Between Friendship and Love
by Yui-Mag
Summary: With Isumi gone, Waya is left to fend for himself. He starts tutoring Go to a boy named Omi and never realizes that with this meeting, he would find part of his family he had thought was dead. Hikaru no Go/Weiss Kreuz (Waya/Isumi, Ken/Omi, and maybe some
1. Default Chapter

Although this is the sequel to Warmth, a Weiss Kreuz fanfiction, I placed this story under Hikaru no Go because the story would hopefully be focusing more on those characters. Though it is a sequel… there is no need, I repeat! No need to read Warmth.

I know that in the manga and anime series of Hikaru no Go, Waya's parents are alive and doing very well. I'm not sure if Waya even has any siblings but in this story he does and his parents are dead. Uhm… author scratches head. There's nothing really more for me to add except that I hope all readers enjoy the story, also I WARN readers that there are OVA SPOILERS for Weiss Kreuz and SPOILERS for all of the anime of Hikaru no Go. 

Hope you enjoy!!!

**_Disclaimer_: I own neither the Weiss Kreuz characters nor the Hikaru no Go characters I just love borrowing them from time to time.**

Ch.1

Time and Ties That Bind

                Waya snorted, bored out of his mind and trying desperately to get his mind off of Isumi. The guy had left the country for god's sake. He couldn't pout forever and mourn the fact that his best friend had left him without bothering to give him a real good bye. He ran a hand in his messy brown hair and slumped into the chair next to his desk. Oh who the hell was he kidding? He was more than just pouting… he was depressed and Isumi wasn't just his best friend. He snorted again and let his chin rest on his hand as his elbow was propped up on the desk. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the reflection of his brown eyes staring at him from the black computer screen.

 Everyone else thought they were though… even Shindo… especially Shindo. The boy was oblivious to everything unless it concerned Touya Akira and the game Go… but then again Shindo's obsession with Go was closely tied with Touya Akira's name so… Waya gave a soft dry chuckle. With one finger on the hand that wasn't supporting the dead weight of his head, he turned his computer on. He heard the soft whirring of the mechanical device waking itself up and starting to process the various commands that had been inscribed its very making. After a few minutes that seemed a bit drawn out in the silence of Waya's little apartment, the computer screen flashed its 'welcome sign and won't you please wait a minute before doing anything as we set up your personal data…' Waya lifted his head and straightened his arm, loosening the muscles that had tightened while being in the prior position. He made a slight face as one of those muscles protested at the sudden movement. But his attention on it lessened quite fast as he focused instead on the fact that the computer was finally ready to work. Deftly he typed in the password needed to get the internet connection. The modem dialed away and it was only a few seconds before the little box faded into the background and the assigned homepage came on the screen. He typed in the web address of the page he wanted to go check, with little hope that he would actually Sai's name reappear in the Internet Go world… but still… it wouldn't hurt to check. 

                His brown eyes skimmed the lines of name and he sighed, leaning back in his chair with another additional thing to be disappointed about. He bit his bottom lip before shaking his head. Enough was enough… even if Sai wasn't there… Zelda was now on. And hey! He was a professional Go player now. The little thought brought a small tight smile on his face. It was better than nothing… it was better then nothing. He clicked on a random person's name, challenging them to a game hoping that it would make him lose the sense of time that was slowly drawing this day out as long as possible. 

…

                On the other side of town, Omi frowned, his blue eyes skimming the computer screen as he looked at the challenge someone had just sent him. Zelda? Zelda… he tried to remember if he'd seen a game played by this person before but he gave up trying to remember and just clicked enter, accepting the challenge. It was his day off… his homework for tomorrow had been completed a little over an hour ago and it was Yoji's and Aya's turn to take care of the shop. He had no want or need right now to work there as physically tired as he was. He had tried to take a nap but had found, much to his dismay, that his mind would not let him be at all. It just kept nagging at him about everything and nothing. A frown crossed his features but before long it disappeared as he was caught in the game. 

                Ken took some of the steps two at a time, clutching with slightly shaking hands a bag that had a small gift hidden in its depth.  He wished his heart could still for a moment as he continued to make his way up to see Omi and that his face could stop turning a red color that matched Aya's freaking hair. He also wished very strongly that… that… He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them wide. He wanted things to be ok again. Things could be so awkward at times between him and Omi… ever since that day. He shook his head, making his brown hair fall into his face and away again. Something had changed… something that he didn't know how to deal with quite yet. All he knew was that the change was responsible for the small warmth that now resided in his chest next to his heart. And that it was that warmth that continued to keep him away from a darkness that threatened to engulf him at times. But this change was also responsible for the awkwardness that resided between them when no one else was around. Or more specifically the awkwardness that resided between them when they were actually thinking about what was happening between them and no one was around… His hands tightened further. It was just so complicated.  He was there… should he knock? Should he…? He banished thoughts from his head as he concentrated on just finding the right words this time. 

                He opened the door in one swift movement and paused in mid step as his eyes caught and saw the image of Omi, concentrating at the computer screen, a small smile on his face. At the sound of the door opening, Omi looked towards him, his smile getting larger as if in welcome. 

                "Hey Ken-kun." The younger boy greeted softly. "How was today's practice?" Ken let the flow of words go past him as he allowed Omi's gentle presence fill him with calmness. He felt his grip on the bag loosen and made his way towards the chair. It would never cease to amaze him the effect that Omi had on him. He kneeled on the eighteen year old's right side, looking at the screen to see what exactly his friend was up to. Omi followed his gaze and blushed slightly. "…it's a game of Go." He explained. "I can finish it though if you…" Ken shook his head, cutting the words short. "Are you sure?" He nodded and rested his head slightly on Omi's side. The touch startled Omi who looked back down before smiling again. "Tired?" He asked, before his blue eyes focused back on the game that to Ken was just white and black circles randomly placed on a board. Ken nodded and gave a soft sigh. He heard and felt Omi move, the eighteen year old leaning closer to the computer as he clicked away at something and then the hand let go of the mouse, coming to play with Ken's brown strands of hair in a soothing manner. "You never answered my first questions…" Omi muttered, his voice sounding slightly off. 

                "Huh? Oh… uh practice… it went good." He answered before chuckling a bit. "The kids were good. Hyper as usual." He glanced up in time to see Omi's smile before the boy's eyes narrowed. Omi's hand left, the warmth leaving as well as it went back to the mouse, looking for a move. Ken made a noise and Omi laughed at him after realizing what had caused him to make that noise. 

                "Go on the other side then… spoiled cat." He muttered, blushing slightly at the mention of that other day that seemed not so long ago…and yet months had passed since then. Winter had long passed away leaving room for spring to make everything come to life again. Ken moved as he had been told to do and let his head rest on Omi's thigh. The free hand, as had been promised silently, came down, running through the strands of hair softly. They stayed like that for a few minutes, each basking gently in a closeness that was not supposed to be taking place. It was a closeness that neither understood but neither could deny the need that they felt for some random moments in time like this. It helped them remember the whys they were still here in a world of darkness and hatred… the whys to what kept them fighting the darkness… the whys to how they could keep fighting knowing that it meant for each of them a life of seclusion and solitude… it helped them live. Live… Omi's blue eyes unfocused slightly, the computer screen blurring. 

                A black Go chip was placed in an unexpected corner, the movement on the screen bringing Omi back to the present, pushing away certain fears and memories. He scanned the board and gave a little sigh. Defeated so soon into a game… whoever this Zelda character was… he/she was a good player. He sighed and clicked on part of the screen that brought up a box so he could claim defeat and see where exactly he had made weak moves. He clicked away again and felt Ken sigh, his warm breath passing by him and giving him a slight chill. A smile tugged at his lip, knowing without needing to look down that Ken was probably minutes away from falling asleep, his head in Omi's lap. To test this, Omi stilled his left hand, knowing that if Ken was still awake enough to formulate coherent thoughts and process the fact that Omi had stopped… there would be silent complaints. Such as Ken moving his head until he found Omi's hand again which is what happened and Omi stifled a chuckle which granted him a pleading puppy eyed look from Ken's green eyes to be locked on his blue ones. 

                "I just wanted to see if you were still awake." Omi muttered softly in explanation. Ken pouted and nestled back into the comfortable position he had been. "I lost the game so once Zelda tells me what I've done wrong… You can tell me what's wrong." His left hand went back to scratching Ken's head softly and Ken nodded without really letting the words register. It just felt nice to be able to relax.  "…he's a pro… I just played a pro…" Omi shook his head and clicked off the internet, having finished going over the game he had just played with a… pro? He felt silly getting excited over something so inconsequential but still… he had just played a pro Go player… and not just that… this Zelda guy said he had made some good moves. Ken looked at him, trying to keep the movement to a minimum so as to not have Omi stop his gentle ministrations. Omi waved off the question that stayed in the green eyes as they looked at him and instead looked at Ken curiously. "So… I'm done."

"That fast?" Ken asked and he received a nod. "Wow…" 

"So…" Omi nudged Ken's head up and off his lap. "If practice went so well this afternoon… why were you so tense when you first came in?" Ken blinked and blushed. 'Damn!' He thought a bit savagely. He should have known that Omi would pick up on that but... He made a face and turned to look behind him where he had dropped the bag. Omi followed to where Ken looked at and felt one of his eyebrows arch up in surprise. What could possibly be in the bag that had made the brunette walk in the room like he was a robot? Ken looked back at him and Omi was further surprised by the blush that the twenty year old now had on his face. 

"Uhm… Nothing's wrong with me. I just-" Ken reached behind him and shoved the bag in Omi's direction. This was so not how he had wanted to do this! Omi blinked, looking at the bag that was now in his lap. "It's just a stupid gift that I wanted to give you. You know… to thank you for… well… you know." Omi didn't quite know actually… he could venture a guess but at the moment he wouldn't even have dared since he could only look at Ken stuttering and blink in confusion. What was going on? "I mean… it's to thank you for being… with me… and helping me. Anyway… enjoy and uhm… I'll be around somewhere…shit!" Ken was on his feet and reaching for the door but Omi caught his hand and pulled him back. 

"Where are you going?" He asked. "I haven't even opened it or thanked you for this." Omi pointed out slowly. Ken waved his free hand about as if to say no matter. "Please stay with me?" The younger of two pleaded, tugging at the arm one last time. The brunette heaved a sigh, the tension in his body leaving him as he stopped trying to leave the room. 

"All right…" Ken made his way to the bed, bringing Omi with him without really realizing that the eighteen year old still held onto his hand. After making himself comfortable, Omi gave Ken a side ways glance, wondering if it was safe to actually let go of the hand. He'd never seen Ken acting like this before. He bit his lip to keep from commenting and decided that he would open the gift with one hand. While this was going on, Ken was focusing on his feet… on the floor… anywhere but Omi. He heard the rustling of the paper being jostled and then ripped with a small sound of apology coming from Omi and then a soft intake of air. Still he didn't look up until Omi was hugging him hard, his face burying itself in his shirt. "…Omi?"

"…arigato Ken… arigato." His voice was slightly muffled but Ken heard the words clearly. He smiled, his arms coming around the younger man's slight frame… his hand finally freed and the tension inside his chest loosened as relief came crashing in. 

…

                It was hours later that the night saw the younger of the Weiss assassins sitting alone on his bed in Indian style. He held the gift softly in his hands, his blue eyes filled with tears as they threatened to roll down his cheeks. He hugged the small teddy bear to his chest and a ghost of a smile filed onto his face. 

Only Ken-kun would think of giving him something so adorable and priceless at the same time for the memories that had come back to him from the happier days of his childhood. Only Ken-kun…

He shook his head and gave a crooked smile before having one hand of his come up and wipe away at those more daring tears that had managed to escape from his eyes. He sniffled softly and gave a sigh.

This gift gave him no answers though.

What… where were they going with this? His large blue eyes moved away from the gift, coming to focus to the outside world that rested in deep slumber outside his window. Where could they go with this?

He closed his eyes briefly. 

A little bit of warmth between two assassins…

A fine line that if crossed even if only a little could mean the difference between life and death. And what if they had already gone beyond that… what the lines that weren't meant to be crossed had been? 

Omi's breath caught in his throat as someone knocked softly on his door. Before he could even try to formulate a reply, the door opened slightly, enough for Yoji to slip his head in.

                "Yo bishonen, Manx…" He paused as he caught sight of what was in Omi's arms. An eyebrow was arched but other than that and the pause, Yoji made no further comment. "…Manx is here." 

                "Mission?" Omi asked, ignoring the blush that suddenly painted his cheeks. He was glad that the darkness hid the redness and placed the small teddy bear beside him. Yoji shrugged, opening the door further and allowing the hallway light to filter into Omi's room. 

                "She didn't say." Yoji muttered before turning away and heading for the kitchen instead of the basement doubling Omi's surprise. 

                "W-where are you going?" Yoji didn't bother to look back as he replied. 

                "She only wanted to see you bishonen." 

_That_ statement did nothing to help the younger man. Sighing again though for a completely different reason, Omi headed down to the basement wondering what was so wrong that Manx felt the need to come and see him privately. Once in the room, the redhead gave a sigh. The woman looked tired. 

                "What is it Manx-san?" No need for any pointless greeting or other formalities. They just needed to get to the point. The woman stared at him for a moment and then waved a hand at him in motion for him to sit down. 

                "Just needed to check up on you guys… see how the kittens are doing." She muttered almost carelessly but the way she worded her mutterings made Omi's eyes widen before they held a spark of understanding. So this was what it was all about. "How is Siberian? Abyssinian and Balinese? Have they all recovered? How are their working skills? On the field and out of it? I have already questioned Momoe-san." Her voice was sharp. Not bothering to mull over the why she had felt she needed to be here personally to receive this report, Bombay launched in his answer, hoping to give nothing that he didn't want to give away to Manx. 

                Ever since that one mission where they'd needed to kill each other off so to speak to find the traitor in Kritiker, Manx had been keener on being up to date on how they were doing… especially for Siberian's case. It seemed it wasn't just Omi who had seen that flash of insanity glint in his eyes as Siberian got caught up in their deaths, or that gleam of … he didn't quite know what to name it… that emotion that had been in those darker than usual eyes when he had clawed that traitor out of his life. Perhaps it was sick pleasure? He wanted to shake his head, scream at Manx to get out. That they just needed more time. That he needed more time. Because… because… He was sure he could help Ken out of that… He knew he could. Ken…ken-kun…

In the kitchen, Yoji leaned on one of the counters, giving the rest of the room's occupants a measuring look. After a minute or two of doing just that, he removed the sunglasses and cocked his head to the side. Ken didn't even notice as he continued to frown at the table, apparently trying to hold his temper and nerves in check. Aya on the other hand, glared at the elder Weiss member with suspicion. The silence though continued for a moment before finally, Yoji broke it. 

                "So… this is new." He started. "Never had personalized meetings with Manx before." Ken's hands clenched into fists. 

                "I wonder why she just wants Omi…" The brunette spoke. "I mean… nothing had gone wrong and… we've never had solo missions before." The mere thought of the younger blond having a solo mission made his insides freeze. Aya's eyes narrowed. 

                "Baka." He huffed. "There is no such thing." There was another silence, one that stretched as it enveloped all three men. Yoji gave up trying to find answers for questions he couldn't even place into words. Instead he decided it was high time to share what he had thought was the cutest mental image he have ever seen in the longest time. 

                "I never knew Omi had a teddy bear before. Think one of the fan girls gave it to him as a present?"  Before Yoji could continue that train of thought or ponder why Ken was suddenly a shade of deep red, Omi's slightly annoyed voice called out from behind him. 

                "Manx wants to see all of us in turn… Yoji you can go next." 

…

Back onto the other side of town, another person was wide awake.

                 Waya stuffed his hand deep in his pockets, biting his lower lip in an endless fight to keep frustrated tears go away. His steps became longer as he sped up-- hoping that he could outrun whatever was plaguing him. He huffed a sigh as he reached the destination his mind had made up for him even though his heart wanted something else. Shindo's house. He looked at it with a sudden sense of loss. What exactly was he doing here? Why was he here? 

                He shut his eyes and waiting until the prickling sensation dulled before opening them again. The house was still there, along with many questions that he did not have the answer to. There was a light at the window.

                The game that he had long sought out to chase certain thoughts and emotions away had been drawn to a close ours ago and Waya had found himself at a loss. There had been nothing to do, no one to turn to… and nothing to say. He had tried playing other people… hoping that a player on the net would catch his interest and would be someone worth playing for but in the end, his heart hadn't been into it. And when the sun had finally hidden his face and let the darkness come in, Waya hadn't been able to keep the loneliness from eating at him. For it was loneliness that was plaguing him. 

                He just needed someone to be there. 

                His amber eyes continued to stare at the one window that was still lit until it became blurry. Should he even bother to hope that it was Shindo's? 

It had been so easy to hide from the loneliness during the day… why should it be so different now that it was dark? The end of his lips tugged at him until a dry little smile played over his face. 

Why was it so different? 

He wanted to laugh. He knew why it was so different. 

Because he had never been alone in the darkness since his parents had died. Isumi had seen to that. And now…

Now Isumi was gone. And he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. The pain that had been pushed back and hidden during the day suddenly boiled out, and the tears that ran down his cheeks did nothing to comfort him. Hands coming to hide his face, Waya turned away from the house, from the lit window and started to walk back to his empty apartment. 

If the person he had counted on the most, had trusted the most, had loved… was not here for him like he had promised, he doubted a simple friend would. 

                The window opened and a bang bleached boy's head poked out of it. 

                "Waya? Is that you?" 

Then again, no one in their fucking right mind would ever use the word simple to describe Shindo, Waya thought in a slight haze as he felt his body stop on its own accord and turn to face the house once more. He nodded, not quite sure that Shindo would even be able to see the movement in the darkness but not able to trust his voice in answering such a simple question. The head disappeared and in no time the door to the front house opened, Shindo running out with a look of profound worry etched onto it. 

                "What's wrong?" The younger boy asked. Waya shrugged, feeling stupider by the minute that he had gotten Shindo involved. The last thing he wanted was to worry the kid…

                "I feel like shit." He finally muttered out and gave Shindo his usual smile. It was the closest thing to the truth that he felt like stating. "Wanna grab some sushi?" Confusion wrote itself over the worry that was still lingering on Shindo's face. Then the younger boy snorted, looking to his side as if someone right there had said something stupid. If he hadn't been so used to Shindo's eccentricities and the fact that he was feeling so drained, Waya would have been seriously weirded out but as it was… the familiar scene made him feel better. 

                "Sushi? Waya… do you even have any idea what time it is? It's cold out here! Come on." And with that, the shorter of the two pushed Waya inside a warm house and into a lit room, where he no longer had to be alone anymore. 

                It was only an hour after that Waya was asleep under a somewhat strange array of blankets that had been quickly thrown on the ground to make something that was supposed to resemble a bed. Hikaru had grumbled a bit while making it, since the older boy had refused to let him wake up his mother to do it for them. Now though as he watched his friend and other pro player, he felt a bit thankful that they hadn't awakened his mother. He rolled his eyes at the thought of the questions she probably would have asked and shook his head. His mother was impossible! He loved her, there was no doubt about that… but jeez could she be annoying! Hikaru went to snuggle into his own covers.

                "Ne Sai…" He whispered as he made himself more comfortable. "You think he's ok?" The tall ghost cast his redheaded friend a gentle look before nodding and giving his pupil and friend a comforting smile. 

                '_I think so Hikaru._'

That answer made Hikaru smile and he gave a little relieved sigh. Before he could close his eyes though and embrace the darkness that blessed sleep would offer him, Hikaru turned to the ghost once more.

                "Good thing you kept me up so late with another game of go and your incessant nagging." He stifled a yawn. "Thanks for letting me know he was there." Sai smiled but said nothing this time, only allowing himself to sit with his back leaning against the wall and close his eyes as well. "Goodnight Sai." 

                '_Goodnight Hikaru._' Sai thought a bit sadly as he was sucked back into his own worries of time running out on him. 

A/N- This story idea actually came about because one of my friends wanted me to write a Hikaru no Go fic but I told her I really couldn't cause I was too used to writing about Weiss Kreuz so while we were walking back to the dorm, we tried to see possible connections between the two series so that I could make a cross over. Since then I've gotten over my fear of writing Hikaru no Go fics (though I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet) but I never forgot this story idea. And it's a fun story so…

I hope all of you have enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know either way!!!


	2. Time to Figure Things Out

Well… here it is. The second chapter to this fic. Again I do not own these characters I've just borrowed them for a bit b/c I can and its fun to do so. Thank you to those who have reviewed! Your comments were really helpful!!!

Enjoy!

Yui-mag

Ch.2

Time to Figure Things Out

                Waya didn't need to open his eyes to feel disoriented. The bumps on the mattress were different from the bed that he and Isu-… Even in thought the name brought out a pain in him. Cautiously he opened up his amber eyes and took in his surroundings. His mouth opened in slight surprise as he spotted a tousled Shindo mumbling something as he swatted the air above his still sleeping head. Something that sounded suspiciously like: "Sai… lea…me, alone… wanna sleep." Those words made the last tendrils of sleep leave his body and sit up. 

                What the hell was he doing here? And had Shindo really said Sai?

                "All right, all right!" The younger boy grumbled, suddenly sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly as he started to shout at what looked to Waya, thin air. "I'm up you bastard! Now what do you want that couldn't wait until I was completely rested you… you… you…" The curse that seemed to be stuck on Shindo's lips was lost in a yawn. "I hate you." He snapped at the thin air again with such vehemence that for a minute Waya thought Shindo had truly lost his marbles. 

                "…uhm…" Waya muttered intelligibly at the show the younger boy was putting on, forgetting about the mention of Sai. 

                "Hikaru dear… breakfast is ready. And don't be so loud. It _is_ the weekend after all and no one is forcing you to get up this early." A feminine voice called out from downstairs, one that Waya could only guess was Hikaru's mother. He didn't hear her as she moved away from the steps and shook her head, saying: "Strange boy." But he didn't quite need to since he was thinking it himself. His eyes were wide as he continued watching his friend, speechless. Hikaru looked darkly around his room. 

                "Like hell! I wish…" His voice trailed off as his green-grey eyes fell on his friend. "…shit…" _'You could have reminded me that he was here Sai!'  Hikaru thought a bit frantic. '__Now what do I do?'  He continued ignoring the pouting ghost that insisted that _that_ was what he had been trying to do! "H-hi Waya." He gave his biggest grin as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "H-how did you sleep?" _

Waya blinked at his friend before starting to laugh. Weakly joining into laughter with his friend, Hikaru gave one last long glare towards Sai who continued to pout at him. Once the laughter subsided, Waya stretched and eyed Shindo.

                "Do you always wake up like that?" He demanded in a teasing tone. Hikaru gave another weak laugh and nodded. 

                "Yeah. My mom's used to it now." Hikaru pushed some strands of hair that was tickling him away from his face and behind his ear. "You hungry?" Waya nodded and stood up when his friend did. There was a companionable silence as they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen where they met Hikaru's mom. Her face showed surprise and before she could even start speaking, her son sighed dramatically. "Yes Mom. I know… This is Waya. I've told you about him before. He's another Go player like I am and… I asked him over to practice last night. He crashed here for the night. Can we have some breakfast?" Waya watched with some surprise as his friend lied to his mom without even blinking. And that tone… He gave a crooked smile. Who would have known? The mother opened her mouth again and shook her head.

                "I hope Hikaru here didn't bother you last night. Thank you so much for putting up with him. I've heard that you've been helping him." Waya blinked and gave a smile at the small woman who was bowing her head at him in greeting. He bowed back. "It's nice to finally be able to meet one of his new friends." The woman eyed him critically with a smile still on her face. "Did he give you a proper bed?" Hikaru gave a stifled groan. 

                "Mo-om!" 

                "It's nice to meet you as well." Waya stated politely to Shindo's mother, trying to hide his amusement at the scene. "I hope I'm not a…" How could he ask if he was a burden, politely? The mother didn't give him a chance to finish his question however because she flapped her hands at him and started asking him questions while placing more food on the table.

"MO-OM!" He'd never seen Shindo at his home, with his family. It was interesting… it was… warm, nice… comfortable. He wondered idly if Shindo even realized how lucky he was. Sai who was at Waya's side, shook his head in answer to the younger man's thoughts. 

                '_No. Hikaru doesn't yet realize how lucky he is. He will though… he is a good child.'_ Of course, Waya didn't hear this and so he made his way to the kitchen table, next to Shindo starting a new day with a smile. 

…

                The two teenagers walked out of the house, refreshed and full from a nice home cooked breakfast. With a little weary smile, Waya wondered how long it had been since he'd had a real breakfast like that. He squinted up at the blue sky and gave a real smile, banishing the thought. It was daytime… There was no time for dark thoughts and depression. After all he had a reputation to keep and no way was he going to lose it in front of Shindo. Not… that he hadn't already, mind you. 

                "Ne Waya," Hikaru started. "Can we go over how to do game records again?" The older of the two nodded. "Thanks." The half bleached boy muttered with relief. "I know you showed me how to two days ago but…" He trailed off with a wave of his hand. "…it's a lot tougher than I imagined it to be." The boy made a face and pouted. "I thought once we'd be pros we'd just get to play games. Ya know? Like against Touya, Ogata-sensei and…well, you know. Even Touya-Meijin." Waya rolled his eyes. Hadn't they gone over this exact conversation two days ago when _he_ had been trying to teach Shindo the rules to keeping a good and accurate game record? If he could recall correctly, and he did!, he could also remember that it was then that he had announced to Shindo that Isumi had quit Nine Stars club and had quit being an insei. That particular thought made his throat tighten. He didn't know how visible his emotions were on his face until he realized that they had stopped walking, with Shindo staring at him again with worry. "…Waya?" Shindo started softly. "I know you said yesterday that you were fine but…" He paused and cocked his head to the side. "I…uh… I am here if you need or I mean want to talk about something. Yeah…" He huffed a sigh, shoulders drooping a bit. He wasn't used to this whole comforting business. The only time he'd felt like trying had been when Sai had beaten Touya at Go for the second time. Truth be told, Akari was better at making people feel better than he was. He usually let her do it for that reason. "Or I can start acting like a crazy moron again to get you to smile. That always seems to work well." He stated a bit lamely, with a half smile on his face. His eyes were serious though as they continued to hold Waya's amber ones. Lost for words, Waya could only stare back. In his mind, he realized that he'd under estimated Shindo one too many times. That boy wasn't as oblivious as everyone always thought. He gave a little shake of his head which Shindo took as a refusal to talk or be amused. "…ok…"

                "I mean!" Waya started, startling the younger boy who had looked away with a shrug. "Thanks…I just… I don't know what to say cause… I…" He shrugged, mimicking the movement that Shindo always used when he was at a loss as to what to say. Shindo stared at him for a moment and then scuffed the toe of his shoe on the pavement. 

                "You miss him don't you?" Again, Waya was shocked. So shocked was he that he totally missed Shindo wincing away from an invisible force name Sai who was screaming at the younger boy to mind his own business. 

                "Yeah. I do." Waya found himself answering truthfully. They started to walk again, Shindo giving a pointed _I told you so look to the air around him. _

                "He'll be back." Shindo muttered decisively. He gave one of his energetic smiles to Waya, skipping ahead with both arms coming up and crossing behind his head. He turned to face Waya, staying in that position. "Isumi-san isn't the type who'd quit or runaway. And you said it yourself from what the sensei had said to you…" There Shindo paused and closed his eyes before reciting word for word what Waya had indeed told him their sensei had said. "Isumi-kun is not satisfied. He'll be coming next year. He is by no means happy with the Go that he has been playing so far…and….I think that was it." Hikaru let his arms drop to his side, a sheepish grin returning to his face. "I do listen, you know." He pointed out most likely because of the surprise that was plainly written on Waya's face. He paused and had a most reflective look on his face that Waya had ever seen unless the boy was playing a Go game. "It took me awhile to accept that but… I think the sensei is right about Isumi-san. He _will be back… and he'll become a pro like us. In the meantime…" He gave a grin. "…teach me! And play me! I can't wait to see Touya's face when we play next! He'll be so surprised…I will catch up to him! I will!" He punched the air and started to run, not giving Way any choice but to run right after him, leaving any last dark thought behind. _

…

                In the little florist shop, the four assassins were bustling about trying to get ready to open the shop. Omi was watering the plants carefully and bit back a yawn that was bordering on his lips. He hadn't been able to get much sleep after Manx's impromptu visit and Ken hadn't either. Omi wasn't quite sure what Manx had questioned the brunette on but he had seen the effects. A very tense and upset Ken had emerged from the basement and Omi had been left to try and calm him down. The memory emerged from his mind and he let it play as he continued in the morning ritual of getting the shop ready.

_"Omi?" There was a slight hitch in his voice as he called the name out softly in a question. The younger boy who had been lying on his back for the moment, turned to his side so that he could face the brunette that was still leaning against his bedroom doorway. _

_                "What is it Ken-kun?" The soccer player came further into the room and sat on the side of the bed, looking at his hands. _

_                "Do…do you think…" The voice that was so naturally cheerful trailed off. Waiting in the darkness, a slight pain filled with a fear for his friend started to ache in Omi's chest. He didn't know what to do to help ease out the words that were stuck in his friend. He only knew that he wanted to help… "Am I insane, Omi?" The question was finally blurted out bluntly. It wasn't what he had been expecting and for a moment Omi cursed Manx's existence and that of Kritiker's. Omi moved to lay once more on his back, so that his blue eyes could look at the white ceiling of his room._

_                "No." He said simply. And that was all that was needed, a tension that had been running through Ken's body faded away with that one word and as Omi realized this, he suddenly began to fear something else. Dependency. He swallowed hard and told himself he was being silly… because… he just had to be being silly. This was Ken-kun he was talking about. Ken-kun. _

_With a slight relieved sigh though the brunette laid back, firmly depositing his head on Omi's chest, the human contact bringing a warmth to his icy insides. He had no clue that he was confirming Omi's fear more than anything. Instead, Ken listened to the constant heart beat, to the rhythmic up and down motion that Omi's lungs produced and then he was able to let the last of his fears disappear. He curled up further onto the bed, pulling his long legs to his chest, Not too soon enough, the younger man's hands made their way through Ken's hair, carefully bringing more peace, bringing more comfort than anyone had ever been able to give him. He didn't know of the inner battle that Omi had fought before he had tangled his hands into his hair. He didn't know… He just knew warmth. And the feeling of finally being needed, wanted… for something more than just killing. With a little sigh, Ken shifted his position slightly just so he could be closer and he buried his face in the fabric of Omi's pyjamas. _

_                For minutes they simply lay in the silent darkness of the late night and then… it was broken simply by the need for other fears to be laid away and not aside in the deeper corners of Ken's assassin mind. He hummed at first, afraid to bring the subject back up. Omi was Omi though and immediately picked up on the tension that was building itself back up in Ken's body. _

_                "What is it Ken-kun?" He asked so softly that it made Ken jump to feel the air around him move, disturbed by the whisper. Ken gave a sigh and then shrugged awkwardly, causing the younger to growl at him playfully at having been jabbed by Ken's shoulder in his stomach. _

_                "Aah… sorry about that." The brunette sat up so that he could try to see through the darkness, Omi's eyes. "Omi… if I was to go insane, or any of the others… and we started to take pleasure in killing the targets or anyone else for that matter…" Ken trailed off again only to continue with a firmer voice. "Would you kill me… us?" Omi had tensed as he had heard each word being pronounced carefully. To his utter horror he found his eyes prickling and scenes flashing though his eyes of that one mission… of that fake mission. Yoji's wire around his throat… Aya's katana sliding into him…And Ken screaming. Screaming as he realized he was the only one still alive. But that had all been part of the plan… that had been all part of the plan. Who would have known that it would have so much effect on all of them? He sat up himself, staring straight into those dark eyes who awaited an answer from him. _

_                "…according to Kritiker… that is what I would have to do."_

_                "But would you?" He allowed the younger Weiss assassin to muse on his answer, his fingers at one point coming to brush the long blond strands out of his companion's face and startling the other because of it. With a hasty apology, his hands found themselves clasping at the blanket, still waiting. Finally… "I know Aya would kill us if it was needed… Yoji… I'm not so sure about… but you Omi? Would you kill us?" They stared at each other for a moment. _

_                "Ken-kun…" He started, a pained look on his face. "I'd do everything in my power to not kill any of you if you guys went beserk. But if I had no choice…if I had tried everything that I could think of and it still hadn't worked…" Those blue eyes were dead serious as they gazed back into the hazel ones. "Yes… I would." Needing that honest answer more than a reassuring one, Ken nodded and ruffled Omi's hair gently, comforted by the fact that Omi hadn't flinched from his touch like the last time. _

_                "I trust you." Ken whispered making Omi's look at him with surprise, wondering what exactly he meant by that. Before anything else could take place though, he looked away and fell back onto the bed. "You know though… with all of this, Manx made me miss the game on T.V., damn woman!" As he spoke the more light hearted words, he tugged at Omi's arm, bringing him back into a position they'd never yet shared, Omi being embraced into his arms and not the other way around. A small smile tugged onto the blonde's face as he snuggled into the warmth and prepared himself to be attacked by idle soccer chatter.  _

The memory trailed away giving Omi enough time to jerk back so as to not down the poor plant he'd been focusing on…

 They had spent the night talking about anything and nothing at all. Computers had been one topic and another had been soccer. He knew that Ken had not understood one word of his rambling on computer technology while he had been quite happily ignorant on the basics of soccer—a game he knew that involved a ball and a green field—that at least he knew. He gave a sigh, he actually knew more about the game than he cared to admit, sports being one of the few things he didn't really enjoy. He knew about soccer though because when it had been known that Ken would join Weiss, he had looked it up, wanting to know anything that could help ease the other boy into what had been then…just Yoji and him. He had figured that if he knew somewhat about the sport that had been Ken's job before hand, the man would be more comfortable. That had been a long time ago though and most of the facts that he had had learned had been forgotten once Omi had realized that it would take time before Ken touched that part of his life again. 

Omi craned his neck back, stretching. It had actually been… months before the brunette spoke about soccer or anything of his life before Weiss, and even more time had passed before he actually touched a soccer ball again. Once he'd started teaching kids though, something seemed to have healed within the brunette.

A small smile tugged at his lips as he remembered the excitement that had flowed through Ken's body once they started on this topic last night. 

                Yoji huffed a sigh, shaking his wavy hair out of his face while keeping a critical yet sleepy eye on the bishonen. There was a sense of mystery in the air… He wanted to know what it was. 

                "Yoji!" Aya barked, surprising the older man as usual. Yoji snapped upright and glared at the redhead for interrupting his thoughts. He saluted the redhead ironically before asking what the hell was wrong now. Aya glared back not at all amused. "You're not working." The redhead snapped acidly. "That's what's wrong." 

                "Work, work, work…is that all you ever think about?" Yoji grumbled, moving away from the counter to grab his apron. He tied it around his waist efficiently and glared at all those, mainly Ken and Omi, who were snickering at him once more for being caught off slacking. If anything that made his bad mood even worse. "Maa…" He shoved his sunglasses back up his nose. "And to think I cared about you two…" He sighed loudly and dramatically before staring around, with a bit of a helpless manner. "Aya… what do you want me to do? Everything's been done… even drowning the new merchandise, compliments of the bishonen."

                "Mou! Yoji-kun, I did _not drown the new plants!" Omi pouted, his smirk sliding off his face. _

                "Yeah… yeah… just like you don't own a teddy bear, ne?"

                "What?!" Omi looked startled. "What does that have to do with anything!?"

                "Well do you?"

                                "Do I what?" Omi demanded, starting to look rather cross while Ken looked panicky. Now _that proved to Yoji that there was indeed a mystery in the air. He'd sensed it yesterday but Manx had foiled his plans of looking into it deeper. Why the hell did Ken get all flustered when he mentioned Omi's freaking teddy bear? _

                                "Kudou!" Aya snapped, coming from behind the counter where the cash register was residing to glare at all three of them. "Leave the kids alone." Ken sighed whether of relief at having been saved from Yoji needling Omi or irritation at being called a kid by someone who was only a year older than him, nobody knew. But Ken still sighed and walked away, shaking his head as he went to slide the metal door up so that they could start letting customers in. Yoji frowned, starting on his tirade of it being truly unfair that the chibis always got the redhead's protection. "If you weren't an ass and picking on them… then it wouldn't happen." And that was that. He frowned at the older man a bit longer and then moved away, his silent threat quite clear. 'Continue to mess around during your shift… and there will be hell to pay': meaning in Aya language—no pay, no going out, and dish duty for a week. 

                Still the threat didn't stop him from staying by the little bishonen and continuing the conversation from where it had been so rudely interrupted. Nothing ever got in between Kudou, Yoji and a good mystery. 

                "…Don't act so innocent Omi. I know you have a teddy bear." He pointed out smugly. He was not ready for the reaction Omi gave him. He had been expecting the boy to become the color or a bright red tomato and start sputtering a negative answer. Instead he got the glare of the century that almost rivaled Aya's. 

                "I never said I didn't. And I still don't see what it has to do with anything!" The blond boy muttered, rearranging some of the plants in the front display. "What is wrong with you today?" Yoji blinked, and blinked again. This was becoming an even stranger event than he had thought. 

                "…bishonen…" He threw his arm around the younger man's shoulders. "You can tell me… who's the lucky girl?" That got some semblance of the reaction of what he had expected previously.  Omi shoved the arm off of his shoulder, feeling the heat of a blush painting his cheeks as he tried to glare at the older man who was obviously bent on teasing him this morning. So much for living in memories. "Come on bishonen!" Yoji gave a slight whine. "First the dreamy looks, then the teddy bear…it's gotta be a new girl." 

                "Yoji…" Omi started, feeling a slight headache coming on. 

                "You're in love aren't you?"

                "NO!" He shouted, startling everyone currently in the shop. "I mean… good grief Yoji… you…you're a real pest this morning!" Omi moved away, thoughts in a frenzy and a pain in his chest. This was all wrong. Things were going too far. Ken frowned, he didn't know what the two had been talking about but it was the first time Yoji had managed to get Omi to yell at him. It was Aya though that went to Yoji's side and started giving him an earful.

What a wonderful start for a day. 

Well since, Aya was busy telling Yoji off, he might as well check on Omi. 

                So the mystery had once again been solved by the all mighty private eye Yoji. He continued to smirk, quite blatently ignoring Aya's lecture and not at all surprised when the redhead finally threw up his hands in disgust and left him alone. Omi had found somebody new. Well that was good. The kid needed to have some good things in life… He frowned. He was a bit confused by the reactions he'd gotten though. He gave a sigh and slight smile came onto his face. Oh well… one mystery figured out… onto the next. Who's the girl? And more importantly… what the hell was she doing to their chibi to make him so…Yoji racked his brain for the write word but gave up as a pretty woman who was definitely over eighteen came into the shop. 

                "Well, hello there…" He started. Mysteries could be put aside for now… after all there had to be some sense of priorities in his life…

A/N- Third chapter is nearly finished so it won't be too long until I update again. I hope those that reviewed last time still like the story and please let me know how it is!!! I really appreciate feedback because that's how I can learn to become a better writer. 


	3. Idleness

Ch.3

Idleness…

                Waya woke up feeling ok if not content. He wasn't at his best but then again… he wasn't expecting to be rid of his black mood just like that with a snap of his fingers and Hikaru's cheerful spirit. Still he had to admit in all honesty that he was feeling better and not feeling as if he was all alone. He stayed in bed for a moment, watching the shadows playing on the ceiling of his room and waiting for all of the heaviness of sleep to leave him. In his mind, he made a mental checklist of what he needed to do and found that the list wasn't that long, thankfully. Just get the mail, do some shopping, practice Go… the usual. But there were no real games… The new pros that had entered the competitive Go world were getting a slight break from their exams… just a small break. They would soon be getting a letter in the mail or a phone call telling them who they would be playing in the Beginner Dan series.

                Lazily, the redhead shifted, one leg dangling off his bed. He listed the possible pros that he might face and a determined glare came into his eyes. No matter who it was… he'd try his best. He wouldn't let them intimidate him. So what if they had more experience? He'd take everything that he could out of that one game and finally understand what was needed to be at the top. 

                A grin came on his face, erasing the serious look in his eyes. "Tch… and Shindo who wants Touya-Meijin to play him. Wonder if that will ever happen." With that last though he decided it was high time to get out of bed and start facing the day. 

                It was around twenty minutes later that Waya came back into his room, clean clothes on his back and his hair still dripping water. He brushed away some invading strands and sat with one leg underneath him on the chair that was near his computer. Laundry and mail could wait… He wanted to check his e-mail just in case Isumi had written to give him some sign of life. And he wanted to check if Sai was on. At that thought he frowned, remembering the fact that Shindo had mentioned Sai when he had been not even half awake. He tapped mindlessly the keyboard wondering once more what was the connection between Sai and Shindo. If there even was one…

                And yet there had to be… He gave a sigh and tried to push the thought aside. Sai had been at pro level during the time that Shindo had been pathetically weak. Weaker than the usual insei they let in. Of course, Shindo had learned fast and his improvement in the game had rendered Waya breathless many a times but still … That didn't make anything connect in his mind. Ah well…He clicked himself onto the internet, watching the little window pop up as it told him that it was dialing. After watching it for a minute or two, he pushed himself away, walking into the other room that was his kitchen. His apartment was small but comfortable and more than enough for him. He opened a cupboard and looked at its contents with a blah look on his face. Nothing there seemed to spark his stomach's interest so he closed the door and turned to look instead at his small kitchen. Sighing, he grabbed the remaining fruit that was sitting on the table. That would hold him till lunch. For lunch he'd go out or something.

Or something…

He glared at the fruit as if it was its fault for not having reminded him that he needed to go shopping. 

                Waya went back to his computer, munching half heartedly into the fruit. He was online… at least something was going right. He huffed a sigh and clicked on his mailbox, the mouse moving to where his hand pushed it to. It was sadly empty and Waya stared it was small hope. He minimized, not wanting to believe that Isumi wouldn't write to him and then went to type in the web address for the internet Go games. 

                The name of that one boy or girl he had played yesterday was there. That person had been decent… not spectacular but not bad either. He let his eyes continue down the list. No Sai. Oh well. He was about to click off when a challenge box appeared on his screen. A small smile made its way on his face. So that kid was back and asking for another game! Well that was fine with him. 

…

                An hour or two later, Waya found himself explaining the game that he had won and starting a conversation with this Bombay character. 

                 SHAPE  \* MERGEFORMAT 

Bombay: Thank you for playing me again

Zelda: No problem… (pauses and thinks) Would you be interested in tutorial games Bombay? You're an okay player and with the right training…

Bombay: Oh… but I wouldn't want to waste your time! I only do this for fun. Thank you though…

Zelda: It wouldn't be a waste of time. Every game played is more experience…If you ever change your mind, let me know. Since I'm new in the Go world, I have too much free time still… 

                Waya didn't quite know why he was pushing his invitation at being a Go tutor to this stranger so much. Sure it made sense economically… It never hurt anyone to get extra cash. But that wasn't why he was doing it. He passed a hand through his hair, making a face when his fingers got caught in some of the damp tangles. He supposed as he tapped the wooden surface of his desk, that it was to keep himself busy on the days he didn't have any games. Or just because… he was simply like that. If his older brother had still been alive… Waya was sure that he'd mention something about him being such a mother hen. In a way, he grudgingly guessed it was true. After all, it was he who had taken Shindo under his wing, taking pity on him since the boy obviously hadn't had a clue as to what he was getting himself into. He still didn't… But at least, Shindo had proved to him yesterday that he wasn't quite as oblivious as they all thought he was. The boy just… wasn't aware of half the things that went on in the Go world or the real world at that.

                He was about to say goodbye when Bombay suddenly wrote back, asking if Waya was sure that he didn't mind and if it was okay if the schedule they would decide upon could be loosely based. He agreed, not needing or wanting to ask why. There was a mention of fees but Waya told Bombay shortly that they would discuss it after the first tutorial lesson if he thought it was worth it. First lessons with him would always be free… 

                Unless he was completely broke. But that was a whole different ball game. The plans were made and finally agreed on. Tomorrow was a good day for them to meet and the kid wasn't really a kid at all. He was eighteen! Waya clicked off after saying goodbye. Hopefully this Bombay character wouldn't give him a hard time because he was younger. He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully and then shrugged. What was done was done. And tomorrow was a different day to worry about. He stood up and walked towards his doorway, grabbing his wallet from where he'd thrown it last time. Slipping the wallet in his back pocket, he stuffed his feet in his shoes and then walked out. Now he needed to worry about groceries…groceries…

…

                Not too far away from Waya's apartment, Hikaru was running down the stairs at break neck speed to answer the phone since his mom wasn't home and his dad was at work as usual. What he didn't know, as he grumbled to Sai about answering the phone, was that this phone call was for him. An important one at that. The confusion that he wore as the person he spoke to asked to speak to him changed to outright glowing surprise as the call was explained. Hanging up after he was sure the conversation was done and had _really taken place, Hikaru turned to Sai his excitement bringing a light in the room that just hadn't been there before. "You hear that Sai?! I get to play Touya-Meijin! You know in the Beginner Dan series!" _

                The ghost's eyes seemed to freeze as they stared at the young boy he had come to live with. This was his chance… this one chance to achieve the Hand of God before his time was gone. Sai hardly heard as Hikaru continued wondering out loud if Touya would come and see him and his father play against each other, his excitement growing unbearable because Sai knew it would soon break. 

                '_Hikaru…' _ The ghost interrupted, his eyes still very serious as he continued to gaze onto the boy who had given him this one chance. 

                "What?" Hikaru asked, still not quite believing his good luck. He wanted to call Waya up and tell him the news! He wanted someone to be there so he could just let all of these emotions that were running through him out! Share them and … and…. Wait… what had Sai just said…?

                '_Please let me play…'_

…

                Omi looked around, a tad nervous at doing something like this. It had seemed like an ok idea yesterday but now… He shook his head. He could just see his cell phone beeping in the middle of the game because Manx needed them for a new mission. He should have stuck to the same answer but Ken had told him it was a good idea and so he had found himself arguing about these tutorial lessons not only with Zelda but Ken-kun as well. 

                'You need something normal in your life!' Ken-kun had pointed out. To that Omi had said he had school but Ken had just glared at him until Omi had just given in. He did want to get better at Go… not because he had any potential for it… he didn't, he knew that. But simply because it was a fun game. He gave up trying to waste time and rung the one buzzer that held the name Yoshitaka, Waya. A young voice answered him to Omi's surprise but he pushed it back as he introduced him. 

                "Ah… Bombay… come up." There was another buzz and the front door to the apartment complex was unlocked. He made his way in and took the stairs until he was greeted by redheaded boy whose appearance for a moment muted him to the spot. It was Ken-kun with wild hair and amber eyes but still there was no mistaking that open and welcome grin. It was Ken-kun… younger and without the dark shadows in his eyes. 

It was…impossible. 

                "Yoshitaka, Waya?" Omi asked, finally finding his voice. He knew his blues eyes were wide as a slightly tanned hand was stuck out in his direction as a welcoming. The boy in front of him nodded, the grin on his face widening. 

                "Tsukiyono, Omi or Bombay… you don't look old enough to be eighteen." The grasp of his hand was firm but not too tight as they shook hands. The grin was contagious and Omi couldn't help but respond to it. 

                "You don't look old enough to be a professional Go player, so I guess that makes us even." That made the redhead laugh and he nodded before replying in a bit more serious tone. 

                "There are pros who are younger than me though… Shindo being one example or a more known one being…" He made a face at the name as if the word itself tasted sour. "Touya, Akira." Omi nodded, knowing who the second person was. 

                "Point taken, Yoshitaka-sensei." Waya made another face and shook his head. 

                "Waya by itself is fine, Tsu--"

                "Omi." The Weiss assassin responded in turn. 

                "All right then… guess we should start playing Go now instead of staying in the hallway."

…

                It was a couple hours later that the smiles returned on both of the boy's faces. Waya felt more relaxed than he had in days. This Omi was fun to be around. He was serious when he played and he actually listened--meaning that he would actually learn something the first time around instead of making Waya repeat himself constantly. It was easy to forget about their age difference and some of Omi's easy going mannerisms made him think of Isumi though the two boys couldn't have been more different in their physical aspects. 

                While Isumi was tall with dark hair, Omi was still a bit short for his age and had longish blond hair that surrounded his face. Both had gentle blue eyes that seemed to invoke trust and instant friendship if you wanted it though. It was hard to believe that Omi was older than Isumi by a year…

                "I can't believe you're fifteen and living on your own already…" Omi remarked carefully, the game and its explanations had been finished and they had been more or less talking about who they were. "Isn't it a bit tough?" Waya shrugged, starting to remove the white Go stones from the board. Right as he did, Omi started, carefully picking the black stones and putting them back in their proper container. 

                "After my parents kicked me out… I didn't really have a choice." The redhead answered carefully making sure that his voice betrayed none of his emotions on the topic. He'd never kept it a secret that his parents had kicked him out… he just had never mentioned the reasons why, afraid that others would leave him as well. Plus he hated pity. Omi regarded the younger boy for a minute, his hands stilling for the barest second before they started to move again. "They helped pay… they had to with me being underage and everything. The last thing they wanted was for people to start talking bad about them. Now it doesn't really matter. I'll be able to pay for this place on my own." He decided that he wouldn't exactly go into the details of why it didn't matter anyway. That subject would break any control over his emotions he still had that worked for him.

                "…I'm sorry." Omi shook his head. "I didn't mean t--" The blond looked like he was in pain.

                "You didn't know." Waya muttered. "And if I truly felt uncomfortable with it, I wouldn't have mentioned it." He stated bluntly. "How about you though? What's your family like?" The blond looked at Waya with a weird expression. 

                "I'm an orphan. You could say that the three guys that I work with are my family but… I don't know if they all would agree with that term." He gave a wry grin. 

                "Well… so we both have screwed up families. Guess we're even again."

                "Guess so." Omi gave a small smile. 

                "Are you up to another game?" Then Waya paused. "Are you even interested in having me continue as a tutor or…?" He trailed off seeing Omi's answer clearly on his face before the blond could even say his answer a loud. 

                "I'd love to continue." Answering both questions with that simple phrase. A friendship was started and neither could have said that they expected anything more or less from what the future would throw at them. 

                It was rather late when Omi finally excused himself and made his way back to the flower shop. When he did arrive he was surprised to find it lit though closed. Yoji was standing in the store, waiting. Since Omi figured that Yoji couldn't possibly be waiting for him, he felt rather safe to enter the building without any of the other Weiss members in sight for protection if things got nasty… which it usually did when Yoji was involved. That man was just impossible. He was a tease and he loved getting any kind of reaction from anyone. Getting someone to break from their shell… to lose their control… Yoji loved that. He wasn't mean… he was just playful. Still, just because Omi knew that didn't mean he wasn't tempted once or twice to break Yoji's arm when the taller man playfully trapped him to the spot under that very arm to tease him about girls, porn, the lack of his love life and etc…

                But that wasn't going to happen tonight. Yoji seemed to be waiting for someone and when that happened, it definitely meant a woman was about to arrive and then all the little games that Yoji liked to play would stop. Women were his top priority. That made the smaller blond grin as he entered the store after having opened the side door. 

                "Hi Yoji-kun." He greeted the older man politely. 

                "Hey bishonen…. You came home late. Did you have a date?" The eyes searched his for any possible evidence of a blush or something else.

                "No." Omi sighed, so much for skipping being teased. "I didn't. I had Go tutorial." 

                "A what?!" This was going to be a long night, Omi thought as he made his way up the stairs with Yoji trailing behind him. 

                "A Go tutorial." 

                "I'm not deaf bishonen. I heard you the first time…" Oh yeah… a really long, drawn out night. He gave another sigh. "What the hell is that?" Omi closed his eyes. 

                "Please tell me you weren't waiting downstairs the whole time just so you could tease me again Yoji-kun. You couldn't have been _that bored." _

                "That's ignoring my question. And for your information I was not waiting for you, I was hiding from that great big oaf Ken who's been on a rampage since lunch because I…" The older man faltered. "I… don't know why. You know Ken…" Yes, yes Omi did know Ken which was why he stopped in his footing to turn around and glare at the older man. 

                "What did you do?"

                "Hey!" Yoji gave his best attempt at looking wounded. It did nothing to lessen the suspicion in those big wide eyes that were looking at him sternly. "Why is it always me?"

                "Because," Omi started very carefully, his arms coming to cross against his chest. "It _is_ always you." 

                "Bah." Yoji waved his hands in the air, a sour look coming onto his face. "I didn't do anything bishonen… just asked him some questions which he didn't want to answer. Then I took a break." Omi groaned. He knew about Yoji's little 'breaks' during work time. And Aya hadn't been there today. He'd been visiting Aya-chan. God no wonder Ken-kun was pissed. Omi sighed a third time, shaking his head and resuming going back up the stairs. Yoji would never learn.

                "Don't expect me to protect him from you, Yoji-kun." He warned as they reached the top. As expected, the older man started to whine. And as further expected, the noise grew the angry Ken-kun from wherever he had been, stomping towards them with the darkest look on his face. 

                "Don't you dare hide behind Omi, Yoji! You're such an ass… I can't believe that you just got back from your fucking 'break' now!" The brunette was furious and Omi couldn't quite blame him for the emotion. Still though, he couldn't exactly allow murder to occur in this house… Manx would just _not_ be pleased. 

                "Maa… Ken-kun," He started in a soothing manner. "Yoji-kun will never learn." Ken blinked at the words and shook his head stubbornly. 

                "No!" He shook a finger in Omi's face. "That's not fair. Don't protect him Omi. He deserves 

wha--" He trailed off with a slight groan as Omi started to pout, looking as usual way too adorable and just making it impossible to even maintain a semblance of anger towards anyone. "That's not fair." He muttered again and then sighed loudly. "I give up." Ken stuck his hands in his jean pockets. "But Yoji… I'd take a look at the schedule board for this week. Aya approved it. So change it and die. Aya's exact words." The older man who had started standing straight with a smug look on his face suddenly paled. 

                "You didn't…" 

                "Oh…" Ken smiled. "I didn't… Aya did. When he got home… and had to help me close the shop because you had been gone since lunch. He was pissed to say the least." He turned away but not before grabbing Omi's hands and pulling him into the other room where they could be alone. "Jerk." He hissed before pulling the younger boy into a hug. "Why'd you always have to play the peacemaker?" Omi squirmed into the grip until he was facing Ken and able to hug him back, a smile on his face. 

                "Mou." He tried to quell the smile so that he could make a hurt face at being called a jerk. Ken smiled, knowing exactly what the eighteen year old was up to and knowing that if Omi was able to do it, he'd be complete prey to those big eyes. He shook his head, tightening his grip before letting the boy go totally. 

                "How was your game?" Ken asked instead. "What was it called again?" 

                "Go. It's called Go. And it was really fun." 

                "…Go…" Ken shook his head and gave a sheepish smile. "I told you it would be a good thing to start, ne Omi?" 

                "Hai… Thanks Ken-kun."

                "No prob." There was a pause as some tension started to come in between them, neither knowing quite why but both lost in some thoughts. Omi was suddenly thinking about Waya's strange resemblance to Ken, not only physically but in mannerisms as well while Ken was thinking about how he should bring up the subject of Yoji's annoying questions… concerning Omi that he had to deal with all morning. They both sighed and the silence broke. 

                "Ken, Omi…. Dinner." Aya's voice called out. 

                "Dinner? You mean…" Omi asked in a curious and disbelieving voice as he turned to Ken for confirmation. 

                "Aya-chan is still here." 

                "Oh." The two made their way into the kitchen to be greeted quite enthusiastically by Aya-chan and the sweet smelling aroma of an actual, home cooked dinner. 

                "Am I still allowed to have dinner with you people… or am I in the doghouse?" Yoji called out from where he was leaning against the wall. Ken and Aya glared at him while Aya-chan gave him a warm smile and pointed out quite calmly that there was a plate set for him on the table as well. "Why thank you. At least one decent person in this lunatic house." Omi had to bite his lip to keep himself from rolling his eyes. 

                "Yoji… you are impossible." He repeated more to himself than anyone else. But the taller man just turned to grin at him. 

                "I know, its part of my charm."

                "Good grief." Ken groaned. "I did not just hear that! If that's your _charm_—I pity the girls that you date." Though the tall redhead agreed he did not say anything. He just went to his side of the table and started to serve the dinner. Omi chuckled though at the little verbal wars that was now raging beside him and gave Aya-chan a reassuring grin that said 'don't worry… they won't kill each other. Yet.'  


	4. Nothing to Lose, Nothing to Gain

Ch.4

Nothing to lose or Nothing to gain?

It had been one thing to let Sai play for him when he had not known anything about Go and the world that surrounded the game. It had been fine, even fun to let the ghost play for him because Hikaru hadn't thirsted for the game, hadn't known the power or the passion that this game with its odd circles and complicated board could create.

He hadn't known, he hadn't understood… until… until Touya, Akira had shown him what it was like to actually care about something you did. That you could actually plan your future. After that, he no longer wanted to support Sai's shadow. He wanted to play with his own skills, prove himself worthy of actually being able to do _something_ instead of being just a regular kid that didn't know what the future held for him. But it had been so hard. So hard to be rid of Sai's light that shadowed him in the biggest of darkness. No one saw Shindo, Hikaru. They saw Sai.

Hikaru could still recall Touya's face at that school Go competition. That complete

disappointment and anger at seeing Hikaru's true skill and not Sai's. It had been a blow to Hikaru and a hurt that he couldn't have put into words to know that he, Shindo Hikaru, was still nothing next to the other boy he so admired. He wanted to tell him that he was going to catch up, that he would enter this world that was so intense and passionate yet serious but words at that one event had failed him and instead tears had fallen from his eyes.

He had wondered then if he was doing the right thing—trying to play on his own when Sai who actually had the gift for the game could just as easily play. But he couldn't stop. When Hikaru hadn't been looking, a love for the game had been created within him and it hurt just to think about not playing for himself.

Now as he stared at Sai who was sitting where he was supposed to be kneeling, he had to wonder again, who of the two of them was really selfish. Here was his chance to get out from under Sai's shadow, to show Touya and everyone else who Shindo, Hikaru really was and all Sai wanted to do was take that away from him. That ghost wanted to just place him back into the shadow and support that unbearable weight of knowing that he just wasn't good enough yet…

His heart thudded in his chest. Hikaru couldn't move, couldn't even talk, much less try to think… and the weirdest part of it all was that he couldn't even find it in himself to be mad at Sai. It just hurt.

An image of Sai's worried eyes came to his mind, reminding him that Sai was nervous about his time running out. Was that true? It couldn't be… already Sai had gotten the chance to come back twice… three lives to play Go at.

"Shindo-kun?" A voice called out, breaking him from the moment of paralysis. That was when the fear, the anger, the hurt… all of it started to touch him.

_'SAI!?"_ He thought angrily, the hands at his side turning into fists. '_Move!' _ The pale ghost acted as if he'd heard nothing, his serious eyes gazing into Touya-meijin's eyes as if the other man could see him there as well.

"Hey, sit down…" Another man muttered, looking vaguely worried at the timing passing.

_'…Sai…'_

"What's wrong, Shindo-kun?" Touya's father looked away from where Sai was sitting, his eyes looking instead to where Hikaru was. The boy was the only one who saw the pained understanding that came into Sai's strange blue/violet eyes. He was the only one who felt his heart clench at the sight, an inner battle starting to take place within him.

'_I'm sorry Hikaru… I just sat down…'_ His apology was probably what clinched it.

'_Sai?'_ But if he could have been truthful with himself, Hikaru would have known all along that it would come down to this…He would return to supporting Sai's shadow. Touya, Akira who he knew was watching… well… Hikaru would have to wait longer to show him his real self…his real strength. Still, he looked at Touya-meijin's face as he sat down, trying to find something, anything to make it so he could play and not Sai. _'Don't start whining now. I'm about to play a game. I understand your feelings but… but…yeah…Its true that an opportunity like this is rare…'_ He sighed, turning to see Sai who was facing the wall. The ghost was trying so hard to not show his emotions. But years of living together had taught Hikaru something and that was that no matter what was going on, Sai could never truly hide what he felt from him. They were too connected by now. He looked at the Go stones. He didn't want to deal with being the center of attention again when it wasn't _him_ that had this talent… if only…if only. '_Sai…would you be willing to play with an even greater handicap…' _ He didn't even have time to finish his thoughts as the ghost turned to face him.

'_I'll play like that!'_

What he didn't know was that during all this, not only had Touya come to see him but so had Ogata-sensei, Kuwabara-sensei, Ochi-kun and more importantly, Waya. Waya had come in with Ochi, talking to him about when they were scheduled to play and hoping that his nerves weren't showing. He was happy for Shindo but worried about him at the same time and not knowing why he was worried for him at all. Who the hell would have guessed that Shindo would get his wish so early in his career of playing someone like Touya-meijin? It was just too unbelievable. Sometimes, Waya thought that Shindo had a strong case of good luck. Or bad… he wasn't quite sure which yet.

His worry for the boy turned to outright shock and surprise as he saw who else was there to watch the game. Ochi seemed just as worried and behind his glasses, the boy's eyes seemed to even reflect fear.

"Who is this Shindo?" He asked as the two listened in on the older men's conversations. The question startled Waya, who sat back huffing a sigh.

"He's our classmate, our rival… and our friend." He finally answered. There was nothing more to add. That was who Shindo was. As he looked back at the two men, he wondered what it was that they saw in Shindo that he and his friends hadn't seen yet. He'd known for awhile that Ogata-sensei was interested in Shindo… but…

Waya shook his head and was surprised once more when the door opened again to reveal Touya, Akira who greeted Ochi with a slight surprised but nevertheless polite greeting. As Waya watched the other pro, he wondered idly if Touya was surprised because of Ochi's presence or by the other two men's presence. "You know Touya?" Waya whispered to Ochi trying to find some semblance of normal in this event that was already twisting out to be rather strange. He wished Isumi was here with them so that someone rational could explain what the hell was going on. That was before he heard Touya stammer… the arrogant brat actually stammered that he was interested in Shindo's skills. He'd never heard this kid stammer before much less pronounce that he had interest in anybody else's skill before! It was true that Shindo had said that Touya thought of him as a rival but…Shindo had been so bad at that point. His Go level so low. It couldn't have been true, could it?

This was going to be an interesting game. That would hopefully bring about some answers that made his friend who he had become accustomed to into a strong stranger that Waya was now certain he had never quite known.

…

Omi was let into Waya's apartment hours later. His smile faltered slightly as he took in the younger boy's appearance. Waya looked tired and angry about something as far as Omi could tell. He also looked a bit paler than the last time he had seen him.

"Have I come at a bad time?" He asked as the door was closed behind him. Waya shook his head mutely before giving a sigh.

"Sorry Omi. It's just that the Beginner Dan Games have started and Shindo…" He paused to see if the older boy remembered the other Go pro player's name. At Omi's nod, Waya continued. "It was his game today and…" Again, the redhead trailed off, a frown making his eyebrows furrow together. "…Shindo seems a bit shaken by it. He's here. I hope you don't mind." Omi shook his head.

"Of course not. Are you sure you don't mind that I'm here? We could…" His attempt was futile though as Waya waved it away.

"Maybe a new face will get Shindo to snap out of it. I don't know why he's so upset anyway… he was bound to lose against the Meijin. We'll all lose in the beginner Dan series… the older pros would die before letting us win."

"Oh." Omi agreed quietly. He'd look up what entailed the beginner dan series later, when he was back home. The two stepped into the main room where an even younger looking boy was sitting on the floor, his head lowered as his green eyes focused on the carpet. Omi was only partly surprised to see that the boy's bangs were dyed blond. A lot of kids in his school had dyed their hair as it was a new fashion. He'd never seen someone with only part of their hair dyed though.

"Hey Shindo. This is Omi. I tutor him in Go." The boy snapped his head up and looked not to where Omi was standing but to his side with a slight hurt look. Waya gave his head a slight shake and gave Omi a sideways glance that seemed to promise an explanation for the behavior later. Shindo finally looked to Omi and gave a half grin.

"Hi."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Omi greeted the other boy politely.

"Sit… sit…" Waya urged. "I'm gonna go get some soda and then we can play a game or do whatever."

"Sounds good to me." The Weiss member was left to comment at Waya's words as Shindo looked back down. He wasn't sure what to do or say next though as the redhead left him alone with the younger boy. Omi soon found out that it didn't matter.

"So…How's Waya as a teacher and all?" Shindo asked, after shaking his head.

"Good." Omi answered quickly, relieved that the uncomfortable silence was broken. The younger boy nodded and then gave a grin that could only be described as either impish or mischievous.

"I hope you realize that if you want to play a _real_ go player… I'm the one to come to. And oh!" The boy exclaimed so fast that he didn't let Omi have the time to comment. "HEY WAYA! HOW GOOD IS THIS KID ANYWAY?" He yelled out to the other room. A rather annoyed looking Waya came in, juggling three cold cans of soda in his hands.

"You don't have to yell. I'm not deaf. And Omi is right in front of you he can tell you as well as I can how good he is. God knows you let me know where you stand each time I see you." Waya muttered much like an old man would rather than a teenager. "And if he couldn't tell you then test him by playing against him." Shindo's eyes got big and his mouth opened and then closed without even having a sound come out of it.

"Uh…" Omi said intelligibly. Shindo snorted.

"Waya, you're grumpy today." And with that said, the younger boy reached for the goban and moved it so it was between him and Omi. Then he took a handful of stones in one hand and placed his fistful on the board, his eyes challenging Omi in a way that surprised him. Not even Waya's eyes got like this. Though he often felt that Waya held back a little when he played him. He felt a chill but dutifully as he was watched by his 'sensei', Omi began to play.

An hour later…

Omi sat back with his head literally aching. Shindo hadn't held back at all and he was vicious when he played.

"And so, what do you think?" Waya asked the younger boy quietly, a slight smile on his face.

"Good. But his defenses are his weak point. You attack too much Omi. Like right here." Shindo pointed to a corner that had been at one point Omi's territory. "Instead of making sure I couldn't win this back someway, you concentrated your efforts on attacking me for this small part. And at this star…" Waya chuckled at Omi's widening eyes. He'd gotten a good lesson with some valuable experience and one heck of a surprise. Inwardly, Waya sighed with relief. Omi had been the best distraction from whatever Shindo had been moping on. "Hmm… think we should take him to the Go Salons with us and play as teams again?" The question was surprising and Waya couldn't help flinch at the suggestion as it reminded him too much of Isumi.

"I don't see why not but… Omi should probably work out some of his weaknesses before we bring him to play with us." Omi nodded quickly. The poor guy. He probably thought that everyone at the Go Salon they'd go to would have Shindo's skill for doing the most unpredictable moves. He'd have to let him know later though that Shindo was an oddity… even for the Go world. He let his chin rest in his hand and regarded the two other boys in front of him. Shindo stretched back, a lazy grin playing on his lips with a look of satisfaction clearing his wide eyes from the darkness that had been in them before. That look didn't stay too long though as the boy lost his balance and fell promptly backwards with a little undignified squeak. His one hand knocked into the book shelf that had been hastily placed there when Waya had moved in making several books fall from it. Omi made no noise but moved even before all of what had happened could even start being processed in Waya's startled brain. In no time the small blond was at his friend's side looking down at him with wide blue eyes.

"Are you ok?" Omi asked gently, grasping Shindo's elbow slowly and pulling the other boy up. Shindo made a face as his free hand went and started rubbing the back of his head.

"Owwie…" Was Omi's answer. Waya blinked. And then shook his head.

"Then again…" He started dryly, making the other two look at him. "Maybe we should just not go because you're an embarrassment." Shindo stopped rubbing his head to shake his fist towards Waya's general direction. "Klutz."

"Grrr…"

"I take it you're ok." Omi sighed with relief and some amusement before letting go of the elbow he'd been holding. He turned to look at the book shelf and winced in dismay at the pile of books and papers that had been knocked loose. "Were they in any particular order?" Omi asked without even looking back at Waya. Waya who was being distracted by Shindo's growling was startled into answering…

"Huh? Oh… no."

"Good." Omi picked at the first book and started to put it back. Shindo stuck his tongue out at Waya one last time before turning around to help Omi with putting things back in order. Waya was going to join them but was stopped as Omi pointed out that they were almost done and that the area around the book shelf was simply not big enough for the three of them. At a bit of a loss, Waya sat back and decided to just enjoy lazing around for a few minutes.

Hikaru grabbed the last book and was startled at having a picture fall out of it. He reached for it and felt Omi freeze behind him. "Waya…" Hikaru muttered, ignoring Sai's advice about just putting it back where it belonged. "Is this you and your family?" He was curious. He'd never seen Waya's family or even heard them mentioned. Waya sat up from his slouched position and motioned for Hikaru to bring it over. The redhead's face darkened visibly as he took the picture from Hikaru's hands. He gave one curt nod.

"Your brother…?" It was Omi who spoke. Hikaru was at a loss of words. He'd never seen Waya look like that before. The redhead gave a wry smile.

"Don't tell me." He said softly. "You're a soccer fan." Waya flicked an imaginary dust off the picture. Omi shook his head.

"No." He started carefully. "But my friend is." He paused. "I'm sorry." Hikaru was even more confused than he had been before but this time he didn't even need Sai to tell him not to meddle. He knew better.

"Eh. Whatever. It happened a long time ago." Waya shrugged. He saw Hikaru's confusion and decided to take pity on the kid. "My brother, Ken, was a professional soccer player. He died a couple years back in an unexplainable accident." Hikaru blinked and opened his mouth to say something… anything. But nothing came out. Waya looked at the picture for awhile, refusing to look at Omi's or Hikaru's face. "He was…" Waya's voice trailed off. "…perfect." It was probably one of those times that should have been followed by silence but Waya's face, reflecting a grieving that he had probably never allowed himself to show, struck something inside of Hikaru and so he spoke up without thinking.

"_You're _perfect!" He blushed as the words came out of his mouth but he knew he wouldn't take them back for the life of him. Waya's head snapped up and he laughed. It was short, strange kind of laugh but it was a laugh never the less.

"I should write that on the calendar." Waya muttered. "Shindo, Hikaru has finally admitted that I am superior." Hikaru made a face. "Come on… I don't have anything left in my fridge. How about we go out to eat?" Omi smiled, face a bit strained. "You too. And don't even think about saying no." He muttered quickly as he saw Omi about to say something. The boy blinked and then nodded. Hikaru smiled and got up, glad the moment was over.

"Ramen?" He asked hopefully.

"Hell no! Sushi!"

"RAMEN!"

"Are you deaf Shindo? I said SUSHI!" The three of them left the apartment in a hurry and this time it wasn't just Sai alone who noticed as Waya secretly placed the photo in his back pocket and how his hand lingered there for a minute too long. This time, Omi did as well.

A/N- To be continued


	5. Lost

Ch 5.

Lost

Waya was in bed, quietly curled onto one side as he fingered the picture Hikaru had found yesterday. With a gentle finger he traced the faces of the people there… 1…2…3… He had lost all three of them. He had lost Ken first. The older brother he'd always looked up to, always loved and been jealous of. He hadn't lost him in the accident like he'd first said. In actuality his parents had disowned Ken after they had found that their 'son' was drugged during one of his soccer games. Waya had lost him then and there. The light in his brother's eyes had died that day and Waya had never seen him after that. And though his parents did everything in their power to keep him from even thinking about his older brother, they could not hide the article telling of Ken's death in that freak accident.

Waya turned to his other side. On that day he'd been out to his study group and when he'd tried to leave it, Isumi had come running in. The older and quieter boy had forgotten all of his manners and just gone straight to him. He'd wanted to make sure his friend had been ok… but Waya hadn't read the newspaper yet. He hadn't known yet. Hadn't…yet. Waya's hand turned into a fist and he brought it to his forehead.

He didn't want to remember the rest.

He really did not want to.

With a heavy sigh, Waya let the picture fall from his fingers. He would have to find a new place to hide it. He pushed aside his covers and got out of bed. Staying in bed had never fixed anything unless you were a) sleep deprived or b) had a hangover. Since it was neither of those cases for him, he needed to get up.

Maybe Isumi had written to him now… or maybe he'd left a message on his phone.

"And maybe, just maybe… you might find yourself a life." Waya muttered sourly at himself. Silently he padded towards the kitchen in a defiant attempt to show himself that he could live without the other man. He didn't need anyone at all and that yes, he did indeed have a life of his own thank you very much.

…

Omi was not in bed though he wished he could be. Instead he was opening the store or trying to in any case. Omi had to admit that he wasn't quite all there. His mind was still stuck on the fact that Waya, Yoshitaka was Ken's little brother. Never once had Ken mentioned his family. Never.

To have seen that picture… Omi shook his head.

What was he supposed to do? Should he tell Ken? Should he keep it to himself? Should he even continue seeing Waya? Should he tell Kritiker? God… what a mess.

Omi gave a little groan. He knew intellectually that he should just tell Manx the situation. Have her check it out and provide proper security around Waya while she tested Ken's mental stability. And if she said that Ken was stable enough to know about it then and only then could he tell his friend about having met his little brother. He sighed. Even if he knew that was what he should do, it didn't make it any easier to do it. Omi almost felt like he was betraying the other man somehow. Going behind his back. And he knew he would feel the same way if he continued seeing Waya while he kept Ken in the dark. Yet at the thought of not seeing Waya, Omi's stomach cramped up and his heart gave a slight tug. The younger boy was in pain and looked as if he needed a friend.

And Omi needed that friendship just as much.

Why did things always have to be so complicated?

Aya regarded Omi as he did his share at opening the store. The boy had come home looking more withdrawn then he was used to seeing. Was the boy coming down with something? Possible… possible but… Aya had this nagging feeling that that wasn't it. He started suddenly, his violet eyes turning downwards to look at the cash register. The annoying machine had just beeped at him!

"Omi…" Aya hissed. "What is wrong with this thing now?" Blue eyes blinked at him. Before the eighteen year old could come up with an explanation for why the technology was not working right this time! The boy dropped the broom where he stood and then made his way to Aya's side. He looked at the machine for a minute, eyebrows furrowing in slight concentration. Then a smile made its way onto his lips as Omi saw what was wrong.

"It just needs new paper for the receipts Aya-kun." Without needing to be asked, Omi's deft hands quickly got that small task done. Aya was grateful. "There you go. Should be fine now."

"Thank you Omi." His tone was less aggravated and the look in his eyes softened further as Omi beamed one of his smiles at him. Maybe Omi was fine and he was just overreacting? Maybe. Aya bit off a sigh and went back to what he had been trying to do before the technology had turned against him.

Ken came into the room, yawning and scratching the back of his head tiredly. He blinked tiredly at the two that had already been up for several hours and tried to mumble something that sounded almost like a good morning. He yawned again midway through the greeting though which made Omi give a soft laugh. And that was good because Aya had missed the first look that had come onto Omi's face before it had given way to amusement when Ken had first made his way down. If he had seen it, all of his worries concerning the younger man would have multiplied. Instead the redhead watched the soccer player try and exchange morning greetings once again with Omi. It was with slight amusement and affection that he did.

"Good morning Ken-kun. Did you sleep well?" Ken nodded at the question, a smile making its way onto his tired face. "Soccer practice with the kids?" Omi asked. Again the brunet nodded, his smile growing. "When are you going?"

"Now." Ken answered after giving the clock on the wall the briefest of glances.

"Have fun!" The youngest Weiss member called out cheerfully, going back to his chore now that the morning ritual was over. Ken reached out and ruffled the blond hair on the younger boy's head before making his way to the door. This caused Omi to sputter and move away, a slight glare dancing in those wide blue eyes that wasn't quite convincing with the large smile and clear affection that resided on the face. Ken chuckled at the look, clearly showing his amusement while Aya hid his by going back to the work he'd previously been doing.

Ken paused as he reached the door and looked back over his shoulder towards Omi who had once again gone to sweeping.

"Ne Omi?" The boy stilled his movements at the sound of his name being called out so hesitantly. Aya looked up as well, sensing a sudden tension fill the room. He frowned. What the hell? Ken looked slightly nervous, eyes glancing from Aya's form to Omi's. The redhead scowled in confusion.

"Yep?"

"If nothing comes up, wanna go see a movie tonight? And you too Aya!" The last bit was added a bit half hazardly and Aya nearly snorted. "There's that new fantasy one that came out that looked good and…" The man was surprised by two things, one that Ken was asking and two that the brunet had even bothered extending the invitation to him when it was obvious that he had planned on asking Omi only. Violet eyes looked at the younger man in question and found that Omi was blushing slightly. More confusion. What was going on?

"Sure Ken-kun. That'd be great." After Omi answered, Aya was suddenly fixed by two questioning glances.

"I'll pass." He answered succinctly. "Thank you."

"Oh ok. Well see you guys later than."

"Bye Ken-kun."

The day passed quietly, questions that had been silently asked had not been answered. Some solutions had been forced upon some while others hid from them. And as night came and blanketed everything in inky darkness, relief was only found by few.

Hours fled through time and more days were survived through several ups and downs.

Waya held his own against the go pro. Of course he lost, but his mental state remained unruffled by the experience. His amber eyes had hardened during the sustained absence of Isumi. Yet those who truly knew him would see those eyes soften when in the presence of only two people—Hikaru and Omi. He was with them this afternoon actually. He'd finished a tutoring game with some other students he'd gotten in the past few days, due to Morishita-sensei's thoughtfulness, and made his way past both of the boy's schools. Hikaru had looked surprised but had smiled that cheeky grin he was getting to know so well and had waved frantically. As if Waya would have missed spotting the boy in a crowd. He'd hidden his amusement by placing a mock frown on his face and stuffing his hands deep in his pocket. Hikaru had ignored that though and had made his way to Waya's side after calling a few goodbye's over his shoulder.

"How'd school go?" Hikaru waved the question aside to ask the one that had been burning within him all day.

"How'd your first Dan game go?" Waya answered by giving the victory sign, the frown melting off his face and a smile replacing it. While going over the game they walked to Omi's school, finding it to their surprise that it was not that far from Hikaru's. The older boy had been leaning against his motorbike, helmet resting on his thigh as he chatted animatedly with some class mates. Seeing Omi with his friends had made the two younger boys pause in their steps. A girl with bright eyes and a cheerful smile had placed a hand on Omi's shoulder and pointed Waya and Hikaru out. The wide blue eyes that followed the girl's movement stopped on the two slender forms that were looking at him cautiously.

"Waya! Shindo!" Omi's grin was infectious and the feeling of unease in the two younger boys evaporated at once. "Hey! How are you? How was your game, Waya? And how was school, Shindo?" Omi asked all at once when the two had come close enough. The girl who had yet to remove her hands laughed and Waya smiled. Omi was always like that they'd found. Hikaru and him exchanged a look before Hikaru shook his head, apparently refusing to go first.

"Game went well. Won by two moku!"

"Congrats!" Blue eyes looked at Hikaru who squirmed underneath their friendly gaze.

"School was boring." Hikaru sighed. "I can't wait until I can stop going."

"Hm…" Omi shook his head. "What are you guys gonna be up to?"

"Better question. Do you have work?" Waya asked, hoping the answer would be no. He wanted to hang out with his two friends and just relax for a bit. He wanted to keep the slight pain of still having not heard from Isumi at bay. Omi shook his head.

"I don't actually."

"Mou… Omi!" The girl pouted, tired of being ignored. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" Omi blushed, suddenly realizing that his attention had been completely focused on the younger boys.

"Sorry Akane." He apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "This is Waya, Yoshitaka and Shindo, Hikaru." He nodded to each in turn. "This is Akane, Shuichi, and Shinji." The girl smiled politely while the two other boys waved lazily. "Waya is teaching me how to play go properly." Shinji straightened at the mention of go and looked at the two go players suddenly.

"Oh wow… that Waya! And Shindo…" the eighteen year old looked speechless suddenly. "Wow. Congrats on becoming pros this year." The two younger boys thanked him and it was another couple of minutes before the three friends could politely leave. When they did though, Omi sighed in relief. At the questioning looks he received, he shrugged.

"They're nice but…" The thought trailed off as he continued to push the motorbike, following the two.

"Class friends, then." Waya muttered. He'd had his share of that type of friends. People who were nice to talk to and hang out with at some times but…not anything more than that. Omi's blue eyes caught his and he nodded.

"So what did you guys want to do?" Omi asked. Hikaru bit his lip at the question, making it obvious that there was something he did want to do but wouldn't say it. Waya saw that and smiled.

"Get sushi!" He crowed. "Cause I won and Shindo promised he'd treat me, isn't that right?" Hikaru stuck his tongue out and glared.

"I didn't forget!" The younger boy exclaimed.

"Ah…and after the sushi?" Omi asked quietly, pacifying the two. He'd been around them long enough now to know that the 'sushi-ramen' conversations of any time almost always ended up in shouting matches. Friendly, of course. Still it never stopped them from getting very loud and scaring innocent bystanders.

"Hmmm…" Waya shook his head and shrugged. "Anything's fine with me."

"Movie!" Hikaru spat out after a moment of silence. "There's a new one out." Omi smiled. He thought he could guess which one Hikaru was referring too. Like the one he'd seen a couple nights ago with Ken. The younger go player stated the name of the movie as Waya questioned him.

"Oh yeah…I heard it was supposed to be really good."

"It is." Omi confirmed. Two sets of eyes looked at him.

"You've seen it?" Hikaru sighed. "I guess it's a no then…" He looked disappointed.

"I don't mind seeing it again." Omi said gently. "It would be fun." Loud cheers made him and Waya laugh together.

Further away, unnoticed by the three there were those whose eyes followed their every movement. Had been for days now. One pair of eyes were caring and worried. They followed Waya's path mainly. Wondering the implications of the young man's presence in the life of one of her hunters. But the other set, the hard green eyes...those stared at the three. He even sometimes stared at the other who followed them, amused. A cynical smile painted a cruel line on the hardened face as the eyes focused finally on Omi."Oh kitten…you always did paint a pretty picture." The words were said softly. "Enjoy this while it lasts. The wind of change is starting to blow. Brad has foreseen it."

To be continued...

A/N-It's been awhile. I'm sorry. I have no excuse.  I can only hope you'll forgive me and enjoy the new chapter. Also, I am NOT giving up on this story! I will continue working on it whenever I can. I have a future scene already written up and everything. Just need to get to that point in the story.


	6. The Winds of Change

Ch. 6

The Winds of Change

Yoji had never stopped being suspicious. He'd made it his mission to get to the bottom of whatever mystery surrounded the two younger boys in Weiss. He had naively assumed that Omi had a new girlfriend and that Ken had somehow played a role in their meeting or _something_. He couldn't see how else Ken would be involved in the whole situation. But he'd wanted to find out and so he kept at it.

It had taken Yoji awhile to figure out exactly what was happening between the two young men. It had taken him an even longer time to actually get past the shock that had come with the realization. And now… He just felt a strange possessive and protective feeling for the both of them. He felt the need to bang both of their heads together and demand if any rational thought had been put into their decision at all! Didn't they realize what a stupid thing they were doing? What if one of them died on a mission? What if one of them went beserk because of it? What if…? The questions kept going round and round in his head making him grit his teeth in frustration.

Were they even really gay? Did that term even fit those two? Yoji had been so sure that they weren't. Of course Yuriko and Ouka had helped him in casting Ken and Omi as straight guys. He hadn't even thought… Maybe they were bi? Did it matter? No…Yes! Yes, it fucking mattered to him! Why, he didn't really understand yet. But Yoji was almost positive that this whole situation was going to turn bad and soon. Now that he knew where Ken and Omi's relationship had been going, he could see big glaring faults screaming at him to do something about it and fix it.

The dependency thing that Ken had going on with Omi was one of his top priorities. But he didn't even know who to approach or even more importantly… how? Was he just supposed to go up to one of them? Both of them? And then what? Just say hi! I know that both of you are together now and I'd like to know why and oh by the way Ken… you're depending on the kid too much. Its unhealthy, its giving me the creeps, stop it? Oh yeah… Yoji winced. He could see that going over really well. He sighed.

Yet when the opportunity came, Yoji snatched it, unable to keep quiet any longer. It was on a Saturday when Omi was at that Go thingy, leaving Ken free. Yoji put out his cigarette, his eyes unusually serious as he went up to talk to Ken. "Ken, you have a moment?" The brunette looked up from what he'd been doing, wiping his hands on his jeans. His smile was there as usual and he nodded.

"What is it?"

"I'd like to talk to you before the chibi gets home." God he hoped he was doing the right thing, talking to Ken about it rather than Omi. At the comment, Ken raised an eyebrow surprised.

"Oh? What about?" Yoji was about to answer him when Aya came back into the room, glaring at them.

"You're here to work. So work." He snapped coldly before going back to make an arrangement for a lady that had ordered it earlier in the week.

"Aya, about that." Yoji stalled him from actually leaving the room. "Ken and I need to take a break." He raised his hands in sign of peace. "Only for a few minutes! Anyway, this is Ken we're talking about. He'd drag my sorry ass back in here to get the work done no matter what." Aya continued to glare, a wordless question bringing tension into the room. "This is important." The redhead's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before resuming their usual glare.

"Make it quick." Ken's eyes had been widening to the point that if they opened any further, not only would they _hurt_ but there was no way his eyes would stay in his head. The mental image the thought gave him made him go 'ew' and he shut his eyes immediately. This just had to be a dream in any case so… it was okay if he was making a fool of himself since none of it could actually be happening.

"Yo jock!" Yoji snapped a fifth and final time, getting Ken to snap his eyes back open. "We got permission to talk now come on. Idiot."

"Ass!" Ken snapped back without missing a beat. "What the hell is this about?" This was obviously not a dream since Yoji's grip on his arm hurt as he was being yanked upstairs. Ken chose to mutter some expletives instead of continuing to ask for answers which he knew he wouldn't be getting until Yoji found the right location. He hated these kinds of surprises. They reached the kitchen and Yoji let go of his arm, pointedly glaring him into a seat at the kitchen table. "What. The. Hell. Is. This. All. About?" Ken gritted the words out of his mouth. Yoji shrugged.

"I told you, I need to talk to you." The older man slid into a chair. "Calm down first. Its not gonna be a fun conversation for either of us I suspect." The sunglasses that usually resided on Yoji's nose were taken off and placed on the table. There was a loud sigh and then… "I know."

"Know what?!" Ken muttered, wondering vaguely if he should still feel the rage he'd felt seconds before or keep going with the whole panicky feeling that was suddenly taking over his insides in a very icy way.

"About you and Omi." A silence reigned in the room and during it, Ken thought of many things to say or do to get those words that Yoji had uttered to be pushed aside but he was so lost and so damned scared at being found out that he just sat there, feeling heat come to his face. Yoji took in all the changes in Ken's face, noticing each emotion as they passed through those wide eyes. Fear. Embarrassment. Panic. Anger. Hatred. He waited for Ken's very well known temper to break loose at him but it never came and Yoji could honestly not say if that made him feel relieved or more scared. "What the hell are you two thinking?" He hissed. Ken shook his head.

"It's none of your business." His voice was cold, almost dull.

"None of my business?!" Yoji snorted. "Like hell it isn't. I wonder if Kritiker would see it that way… or Aya…" He let the words flow in the air, still testing Ken, waiting for the moment when the kid was going to blow up. "You don't love him." The accusation was thrown in Ken's face and the brunet blinked, anger once more flushing his face.

"What the hell…" He started, his voice rising while his hands turned into fists, his whole body suddenly shaking as he continued to try to keep his temper in check.

"He doesn't love you." Yoji continued, leaning away from the table now and taking an almost lazy stance. But he was tense underneath it all, just ready for something to snap. "It shows, you know. Omi sucks at lying when it's about someone he cares about. You confuse him, you scare him and make him uncomfortable. And he does the same thing to you. He tenses when you're in the room, he tenses when you touch him. You know he's only allowing it to continue because he's scared to hurt you. The kid is messed up as it is Ken… don't…" He must have laid the last straw that broke the camel's back during that little tirade he had going because all of sudden, the table was swung to the side, toppling over with its dead weight. The sound of it crashing to the ground was deafening and Yoji almost had no time to stand and put his guard up before he was being tackled. A punch landed on his face, the heat and pain flaring in the place where he'd been hit. "Fuck it Ken…" He pushed the boy back and away from him with his legs, not caring at the grunt of pain he had caused. Yoji was about to punch the soccer player back when Aya ran into the room, looking more than pissed.

"Kudou! Hidaka!" Aya's voice was like a whip and the two froze at the sound of it. "What the hell is going on? Is this how you talk to a teammate?" There was a pause as Aya continued to survey the scene. "Pick up the damn table. I want explanations… And I want them now."

"Oh fuck yourself." Ken shouted. "I don't have to explain myself to you… Who the hell are you? God? I don't fucking think so." He tried to make his way out of the room, still not thinking clear with all the anger in his head. He only wanted to hit Yoji into a bloody pulp until the man took those words back and more… He didn't know why he was reacting this way but he was. Those accusations hurt. Hurt so much that he couldn't breathe anymore… not properly… not enough. Aya pushed him back, his body blocking the doorway.

"I don't think you heard me correctly, Hidaka." Yoji just stood there, leaning against the wall and suddenly he started to laugh.

"You fuck ups… you little fuck ups… oh gods…" The eldest of the Weiss shook his head. "And you really thought it was going to work? That you'd be able to kid yourselves into thinking this was right when both of you already know it isn't? Look at how you react when I accused the sincerity of your feelings. Ken…" The man shook his head again. "I had questions to ask you but you answered them with your behavior. You really _don't_ love him. He's just keeping you sane for awhile, making you feel less guilt for all the blood we've all spilt but you don't love him. If you did you wouldn't show how insecure you are. You'd just tell me to fuck off and leave you two the hell alone but…" Aya stared at the man wondering if Ken's punch hadn't addled the small brains that Yoji still had left. "You don't love him."

Ken's shoulders suddenly slumped as Yoji repeated those words. Anger left him and he was empty, cold…alone. He was very alone for the first time in months; his protection had been ripped away by Yoji's words. He had nothing. Maybe he'd never had anything to begin with. Maybe he'd imagined everything. Maybe…maybe… probably… He felt a sob start to build in his throat.

All those weeks of tension between him and Omi, each time he had tried to breach the new gap that had suddenly come between them and never, never had he been able to because he hadn't wanted to. He hadn't wanted to. And neither had Omi. That was the key… the last piece of the puzzle and Yoji had figured it out.

"…maybe…" He found himself saying brokenly, suddenly reaching out for any kind of hope that would allow him to regain that warmth that had protected him before. "…maybe you're right. I don't love him. But I need him." Aya was completely lost. "I need him!" Ken snapped, his head coming back up to glare at Yoji with determination.

"Need isn't love Ken."

"I know that! But it's the closest thing we'll get to have in this world we live in. And _you_ are not going to take that away from us." He brought his hand to wipe at his eyes, startled to find that he had been crying. "You won't take this from us." He repeated. "It's not yours to take…" He left the room, brushing past Aya who let him go this time. The violet eyes of his turned to look at Yoji who was still shaking his head.

"Kudou…" Aya started, wary. "…what is going on?" Yoji glanced up and gave him a smile that wasn't quite reassuring.

"We've got a broken table, two broken kids who are trying to play house to heal themselves and an old busy body who was just taught a lesson. Is that an okay summary?"

"No." Aya muttered softly as his mind put all the pieces of information he had been given together. "But it's enough for now." He walked over and together the two older assassins picked the table up, trying to see how much damage the old table had gotten. "A leg is broken on my side." He stated and Yoji nodded but said nothing else as they let the table go back down on its side. There was a heavy sigh that was given and Aya glanced at Yoji. "Why push him over the edge, Yoji?" He asked finally. "And why now? They've been together like this for…months…" The blond looked at him surprised.

"You knew about them?"

"It wasn't that hard."

"And…?"

"And what?"

"And you still need to ask why?"

"Yes."

The back door opened quietly, the noise never reaching Yoji or Aya's ears. Omi slipped into the shop and then into the apartments with a slight smile on his face. Today had been a good day and most of the worries that had tensed him up had melted away in Waya's company. The only downside to all of it was that Waya had been concerned about Shindo. The younger was behaving quite strangely. Missing games. Refusing to talk to anyone about it. The way Waya described it, it almost sounded like Shindo was grieving. And yet…no one in the Shindo family had died that they were aware of.

Omi had made a promise to the redhead to go talk to him but…The Shindo household had been empty. He needed to let Waya know and come up with a way to reassure him. Maybe they could meet again tomorrow and try and go there together.

The smile on Omi's face faded pretty quickly though when he heard a dull thump coming from Ken's room. Curious, Omi paused in his steps and made a quick decision to stop by the older man's room before going back to his and doing the homework he had allowed to start piling up near his desk.

"Ken-kun?" He knocked at the door softly, almost hesitantly and was surprised as the door was yanked away with sudden force.

"What?" The tone of his voice made Omi's heart beat skip and his stomach cramp up immediately.

"A-are you okay, Ken-kun?" The taller boy made a sound that was surprisingly like a snort.

"No. I'm not." The door was almost brought to a close in front of his face midway through the younger man's concerned question.

"Can I do…" Omi was shocked and the question merely trailed off. The door opened slightly again.

"Look. You're the last person I wanna see right now ok? I don't _need_ your help!" This time the door wasn't just shut in his face it was slammed. The air it moved in the process went past him and blew the soft strand away from his cheeks. "God damn it! Nosy bastard…" The words were muffled but still quite clear to Omi's ears. "Fucking hate it!" And it hurt. "Hate him! Argh…" He blinked blindly at the door, not moving for the longest of times. The thudding noise had started up again. And Omi wondered why he'd knocked on Ken's door in the first place. The noise was fine. The noise was normal. It was just Ken kicking his soccer ball inside the house. He only did that when he was upset but still...

Why did he knock on the door? Because he was worried. But the other boy saw it as being nosy? Nosy? Omi took a step back. And then another. He turned away and made his way back down the stairs he'd just come up. Omi had thought...had thought he'd been helping. Had thought that, Omi shook his head as if to escape from the thoughts that were making his head spin and his heart feel heavier in his chest. Had he done something to make Ken angry with him? He tried to think of a reason. But nothing came to him.

Unless… unless Ken had heard from Manx? Had Manx finished the background research on Ken and Waya? Had she gone and talked to the brunet without telling him first? But she wouldn't. That would be going against protocol. Manx would never do that. He trusted her. Than what was it? What could it be? What he had done to make him be so angry? And god why did it have to hurt so much? He was used to Yoji calling him nosy at times… he was even sure that Aya thought it as well. But Ken? He'd never said or done anything that even indicated to the younger man that he was an annoyance. And Omi couldn't bear the thought that he had become one. He bit his lip.

The day would come he knew when they would all go their separate ways. Omi had always had some hope that they would all keep in touch—at the very least him and Ken would. And that hope had grown considerably the past few months. But now… It was strange how such few words, such few actions could just come and break that all to smithereens.

Omi pushed the back door open and gulped in the fresh air. He continued walking, not knowing where he would go. He only knew that he needed to get out of there. And he would not cry, damn it. He wouldn't.

The phone rang, startling the two eldest members of Weiss who were trying to prepare a dinner of sorts. It was Aya who reacted to the noise first and walked out of the kitchen to go and answer it when it was clear after the third ring that nobody else in the house would. The fact that no one answered the phone before had made him wonder where Omi was as he said hello in the mouth piece.

"Uh… hi. Is Omi there?" A young voice asked, mirroring his own unanswered question.

"Just a minute." Aya placed his hand over the mouth piece. "Yoji, have you seen Omi?" He raised his voice a little so that the other man in the kitchen could hear him. The man's head peered out from the kitchen area to the small hallway where Aya was standing.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you over the oven noise." Aya repeated himself and waited for Yoji to think the question over. "Nah. After the thing with Ken, I've been with you repairing the damn table and then preparing dinner." The blond dug a finger in the middle of his forehead and closed his eyes. Probably mentally reviewing Omi's schedule in his head. "He should be home though." Aya nodded and sighed. He turned back to the phone.

"Excuse me. Could you hold on for a bit longer while I go check?"

"..y-yes." Aya placed the receiver down and made his way to Omi's room. He knocked on the door twice before opening. He found it empty, the computer shut down. He frowned and then went to Ken's room. The door opened after only one knock. Apparently somebody's temper was still on high.

"What?" Aya arched an eyebrow at the tone to show how unimpressed he was with it.

"Have you seen Omi?" Ken's frown deepened.

"Yes. He should be in his room." Aya refrained from sighing.

"He's not." There was a pause. "Did he tell you if he was going somewhere or…?" Ken shook his head.

"No. We didn't exactly talk today." Well didn't that sound wonderfully helpful? The redhead just nodded and started to make his way back to the phone. Ken followed him part of the way though. He left the older man by the phone and continued on, calling for the younger man.

"I'm sorry. Omi isn't here at the moment. I can take a message and ask him to call you back when he returns. Who is this by the way?" Aya searched the desk for a pen and paper to write down all the necessary information. "Waya, Yoshitaka…" He wrote the name down. "Omi already has your phone number? Right. I'll have him call you back then. Goodbye." He turned around in time to see Ken come running up the stairs with mixed emotions playing on the brunet's face.

"Aya. Omi isn't in the basement either. He has his cell phone turned off and…" Besides worry, another emotion was warring in Ken's eye and it was easy enough to pick out but hard to understand. It was guilt. Aya looked at the younger man for a moment. Why guilt? Yoji made his way into the room, wooden spoon in his hand. It was dripping hot water from its surface. Aya normally would have commented on it but at the moment was too preoccupied. It just wasn't like Omi to leave and not say anything to any of them. It was even more unlike Omi to have his cell phone off.

"What's wrong?" Yoji asked, slightly wary of Ken. "Where's Omi?"

"We don't know." Aya answered the older man. "Ken, you did see him today, right?"

Ken nodded instead of answering with words. Aya sighed. "Try his cell phone again. He should know better than to have it off." Again, Ken nodded wordlessly and obeyed. His eyebrows furrowed at what most probably was the sound of no one picking up. Ken shut off his own cell.

"Fuck." The brunet ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck." He whispered again.

"It's not _that_ big of a deal, is it?" Yoji asked finally looking between the redhead and the brunet for an answer. "The kid probably needed fresh air. It's not like we've never done the same."

"He's never shut off his cell phone though." Aya muttered, tired.

"Maybe the battery died." Yoji shot back and it was logical what he was saying…reasonable even. If they'd been speaking about anyone other than Omi.

"I doubt it." Ken hissed. "It's my fault."

"How?" Aya stated calmly. "Explain yourself."

"I…fuck… I lost my temper when he got home and checked up on me." Ken closed his eyes. Ah… Aya thought. Well that would explain part of it. But something was still off.

"Even if he's upset with you, Omi wouldn't just keep his cell phone off."

"You're obsessed with the cell phone aspect, aren't you?" Yoji snorted. Before Aya could retort, the tall blond threw the spoon back into the kitchen. "Doesn't matter." What didn't matter, Aya wasn't quite sure. It could have been the spoon which sounded like it had broken or it could have been the fact that Aya was or wasn't obsessed with the cell phone. "Let's split up and look for him. Aya go to the school, Ken go to wherever you and he usually go when hanging out with each other. Or any fucking place you know that he goes to that we might not know about!" Yoji gritted out not letting Ken interrupt him. "I'll go to Ouka's grave."

….

Waya stared a bit dumbly at the phone that he'd just placed back onto its cradle. He sighed giving his computer a quick glance and seeing that no, Omi hadn't signed back onto instant messenger. The older boy had promised though that as soon as he'd be home…

He'd never known Omi to not follow up on his promises. It made his insides curl into a cold and heavy knot. He didn't like it. Intellectually, Waya knew he was overreacting just a bit. He knew there had to be some sort of rational explanation. But he'd waited for a couple of hours and still no Omi.

What was going on?

He needed the other one to lean on. His world was breaking down even more. Touya-meijin…had officially announced his retirement. Sai's last game against that great man still replayed constantly in his mind as well as Touya's shocked and devastated face. Shindo had looked crushed and scared even. Then, after a week of Shindo acting like he was being hunted down and just _had_ to keep a low profile…the other boy just quit. Refused to speak to him, refused to play, the kid had even refused to come into work. And nothing made any sense anymore.

Omi had promised that he'd go and talk to Shindo. Maybe, maybe Omi had managed to get a hold of him. Or maybe not. Where was he? His fingers itched to try and call Omi's cell phone number again but was already too weary of hearing the automatic voice mail telling him to try again later. Oh what the heck! He got out of chair, shoving it away from him as he did. He couldn't just sit here anymore. Waya grabbed his keys from his desk and shoved his sneakers onto his feet.

Minutes later as he was running outside, laughing hard green eyes pushed soft suggestions into Waya's open and unsuspecting mind. It was just too easy to play with kittens sometimes. Too easy but always so much fun. Schuldig created the false memory of a bridge looking over into the ocean, of the three boys playing there and of Omi's gentle voice explaining how it was his favorite place.

The trap was laid out. The winds were blowing in the right direction. Now all that was needed was to find the perfect place to watch everything unravel.

Waya felt his lungs burn as he continued to run. He suddenly knew where he could find Omi. He felt like smacking himself on the forehead. Why hadn't he thought about it before? It wasn't too far away, he supposed, if you had a car or a motorbike to get you there. He should have grabbed his wallet before running out like that. Then he could have at least taken a taxi.

His mind was slightly chaotic but for once he didn't mind so much. It distracted him from feeling his body as he pushed it on. His legs felt like rubber and were trembling by the time he reached the bridge. He couldn't breathe properly, gasping at the air and taking gulps of it like he was drowning. But it didn't matter anymore. The urgency that had been filling him was starting to ebb away. He could see Omi, leaning against the railing. The young man was just looking out into the waves. Waya couldn't run anymore and couldn't yell the other one's name. He took a couple more steps forward. Omi was ok. He was safe. He'd just…broken his promise? No. There had to be an explanation. A couple more steps.

"Omi…"

"Waya—wait." Shindo's voice? It sounded as ragged as his own. "Saw…" The younger boy looked in pain. His cheeks were bright red and his hair was plastered to the sides of his face with sweat. "…you…" He puffed out. "…running." All of sudden, they were shoulder to shoulder. "What's wrong?" His friend's sudden weight was right there. Warm and comforting and he leaned back into it. Between the two of them, he was sure that they could make it to Omi's side. And then everything would truly be all right.

"Worried about," He pointed Omi's lonesome shape up ahead. "Him. You. Didn't know what was going on anymore." He took a trembling step forward. "I couldn't lose him too. And you…" Shindo ducked his head; his arm coming to weave around Waya's back providing more support.

"Sorry about that." There was a new strength in that young voice. "I was an ass. I didn't mean to hurt you…I was just lost but I finally found what I was looking for." He took in a deep breath. His lungs still ached. "I won't leave you like that again." Because it sucks to be the one left behind all the time. And now Shindo understood exactly what it was like to be left behind with no way of reaching the one who had left.

It kills part of you.

"Omi." They both gasped his name out. The blond turned in one quick motion, eyes wide.

It makes you doubt.

"Waya? Shindo? Wh--?"

That there'd been anything there in the first place.

"Omi!" Another voice called out from the street. Blue eyes looked up and spotted the new person. The face paled.

"Shit…" Omi found himself moving, placing himself in front of the younger boys to shield them.

"I was worried!" Ken hissed as he ran down the rest of the hill. He skidded to a halt just a few steps away. "Why the hell did you turn your cell phone off?" A hard hand was clutching Omi's shoulder. Hard. Ken frowned. Who the heck was behind him?

"I didn't turn it off…" Omi started weakly, his own hand coming up and catching that hand.

"Don't lie! I must have called over twenty times. It was off!" There was a weak voice whispering something he couldn't understand.

Further away, Shuldig started to laugh.

A/n- So this is where I'm pulling away from the manga story even more than I was before. Isumi is _not_ the one that brings Shindo back into the go world and Weiss and HnG universe start to truly come together.  If the first section seemed a bit like…oh wow! These guys are overreacting just a tad…well, it's all thanks to Schu who just loves pushing people just a bit until their own minds push them over the edge. Sorry for the slow updates. I'm dealing with what could be tendonitis or the start of carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists, making typing very painful.

Anywho. Thank you for those of you who don't give up on me!!! It means a lot to me. :)


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